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GIRTON COLLEGE STUDIES 

Edited by Lilian Knowles, Litt.D., Reader in Economic History 
IN the University op London 



No. 3 



SIDELIGHTS ON TEUTONIC HISTORY 

DURING 
THE MIGRATION PERIOD 



CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 

ILontJon: FETTER LANE, E.G. 

C. F. CLAY, Manager 




(fiintiurgf) : 100, PRINCES STREET 

JSerlin: A. ASHER AND CO. 

ILeipjtg: F. A. BROCKHAUS 

i^fto lorfe: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

©ombag anH GTalnitta: MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd. 



All rights reserved 



IDELIGHTS ON TEUTONIC HISTORY 

DURING 

THE MIGRATION PERIOD 

\ 

BEING 

STUDIES FROM BEOWULF AND OTHER 
OLD ENGLISH POEMS 



BY 
M. G. CLARKE, M.A. 



Cambridge : 

at the University Press 
191 1 



-^N"^"^ 



t<» 



\ 



Camfaritjge : 

PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. 
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 






j 



PREFACE 

THE following chapters are the outcome of two periods 
of study undertaken during the tenure of research 
scholarships awarded by Girton College, and form an 
attempt to discover the amount of historical truth under- 
lying the allusions to persons and events in the Old 
English heroic poems. 

The essay deals with an aspect of these poems, which 
has not, so far as I know, been treated systematically by 
anyone who has previously written on the subject. Thus, 
in the absence of any model, I have had to work on 
independent lines, especially as regards the grouping and 
arrangement of different traditions, and the method of 
discussion followed in the several chapters. The actual 
arrangement has been adopted for convenience of discus- 
sion, according to the nationality of the persons concerned, 
except in cases where a particular section forms a complete 
epic narrative with a personal (as opposed to a national) 
interest of its own: in these cases the tradition has been 
discussed under the heading of the poem in which it is 
contained, or that of the character round whom the 
narrative centres. 



VI PREFACE 

Each chapter is arranged thus : — 

I. An account of the tradition respecting the nation 
or hero in question, pieced together from the scattered 
allusions in the poems. 

II. The evidence of other authorities dealing with 
the same traditions or with the same characters. 

III. A comparative view of the evidence of these 
authorities in its relation to the substance of the Old 
English poems. 

IV. A summary of the inferences as to historical 
truth which may justifiably be deduced from the allusions 
in the poems. 

The positive results obtained are often extremely 
meagre, and in no case do they make any claim to finality. 
Though much work has been done in this direction, much 
still remains : and any value which this study may 
possess lies chiefly in exploring new possibilities and in 
indicating the paths along which further research may in 
time lead to more definite conclusions. 

Note. In the first three chapters a certain amount of repetition 
has been inevitable owing to the close relations existing between 
Swedes, Gautar and Danes, and the frequent necessity of citing the 
same facts in connection with each. 

Some explanation must be added regarding the use of proper 
names, which may at times appear somewhat inconsistent : each 
name has, as far as possible, been given in the form in which it 
occurs in the particular authority under discussion at the moment, 
e.g. in dealing with English evidence the English form has been 
given, as ' Beowulf,' ' Offa,' while in citing Scandinavian evidence, 
the Scandinavian forms have been employed, as 'Bgdvar,' 'UflFo,' 



PREFACE Vll 

and so od. (The exceptions to this are well established English 
forms such as ' Swanhild,' ' Walther.' I have used these wherever 
possible, usually giving in brackets the particular forms employed 
by different authorities.) On more neutral ground, viz. sections iii 
and IV of each chapter containing the comparison of evidence and 
probable historical value of the tradition in question, the most 
generally accepted form of the name — where possible its English 
equivalent — has been adopted. 

In Scandinavian personal names, it may be added, the final in- 
flexional consonant has been discarded, except in the case of names 
ending in a vowel. 

The subject of the study was originally suggested to 
me by Mr H. M. Chad wick, Fellow of Clare College, 
Cambridge : I have been under constant obligation to 
Mr Chadwick for the help he has given me in the course 
of my work, and many valuable ideas, which I owe to 
him, are incorporated in the essay. My thanks are equally 
due to Professor Napier of Oxford University for assist- 
ance especially in the latter stages of the work, including 
many useful criticisms and suggestions. Many facts 
regarding Icelandic literature and sociology have been 
brought to my notice by Miss B. S. Phillpotts, lately 
Librarian of Girton College. I have also to acknowledge 
the assistance which I have received from Miss Bentinck 
Smith, Headmistress of St Leonard's School, St Andrews, 
formerly Lecturer and Director of Studies in Mediaeval 
aud Modern Languages at Girton College: Mr Eirikr 
Magniisson, late Assistant Librarian, Cambridge University 
Library; Sir W. M. Ramsay, Professor of Humanity in 
the University of Aberdeen; Mr H. J. C. Grierson, 
Professor of English Literature in the University of 



Vlll PREFACE 

Aberdeen ; my father, Mr John Clarke, Lecturer in 
Education in the University of Aberdeen, and others: 
as also the facilities for study and the courtesy and 
kindness extended to me by the Librarian and Assistants 
of the Cambridge University Library. 

M. G. CLARKE 



St Andrews 

28 January 1911 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. 



I. 



List of Chief Abbreviations 
Introductory Chapter 
The Geatas. 



I. The Geatas in Beowulf and Widsith 

II. Evidence derived from Scandinavian literature 

regarding 

a. The person of Beowulf 

h. The Geatas 

Historical references to the Geatas (Gotar) in foreign 

authorities 

Ill, IV. Comparison of evidence, and summary of 
historical facts underlying the references to 
the Geatas (Gotar) in Beowulf and Widsith . 

II. The Danes. 

I. The Danes in Beowulf . 
The Danes in Widsith 

II. Other references to the Danes 

Historical references 

Hrolfssaga kraka 

Landndmahok 

Tnglingasaga 

Saxo 

Skdldskapermdl 

Arngrim Jonsson's epitome of Skjqldungasaga 



PAGE 

xi 



25 



31 

38 

42 



44 

58 
60 

61 
62 
63 

68 
69 

72 
74 
76 



L CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAGE 



III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the Danes 

Yrsa and Hrolf Kraki . 

Heoroweard . 

Hrothgar and Hrothulf 

The Hall Heorot . 

Hrethric 

Hrothgar's Warriors 

The Heathobeardan in Beowulf . 

The identity of Froda the Heathobeard 

Sigehere and Alevih 

Heremod 

Scyld Scefing 

Healfdene 

Beowulf (cf Beo. 1. 53 ff.) 

The Ring Sviagris 

IV. Summary of evidence on Danish tradition in the 

light of its historical value 



80 

82 

90 

91 

93 

95 

101 

103 

114 

116 

121 

122 

130 

134 

136 



138 
145 
146 



III. The Swedes 

I. The Swedes in Beowulf . 

II. References to the Swedes 

(1) in Latin historians 147 

(2) in Scandinavian authorities . . . .147 

III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the Swedes . 149 

IV. Historical facts underlying the Swedish traditions 

in Beowulf ....... 154 

IV. Offa. 

I. Offa in Beowulf and Widsith 157 

II. Other authorities for Offa 158 

Vita Offae I . .159 

Vita Offae II 161 

III. Comparison of evidence with regard to Offa . 165 

IV. Historical facts underlying references to Offa in 

Beovmlf and Widsith 174 



CONTENTS xi 

CHAP. PAGE 

V. Finn. 

I and III. Discussion of the epic fragment Finn and 

of the Finn episode in Beoioulf . . .177 

IV. Historical background of the Finn saga . .184 
VI. Deor 188 

a. HiLDE SAGA 

I. Hilde saga in the Old English poems . . 190 

II. Other authorities for the Hilde saga 

Skdldskapermdl 191 

Saxo . . . . . . . . . 192 

Sgrlapdtt7^ 194 

Mhg. epic Qiidrun 197 

III. Comparison of evidence with regard to the 

Hilde saga 199 

IV. Historical value of the Hilde saga . . .201 
h. Weland saga. 

I, Weland saga in Old English poems . . . 201 

II. Other authorities for Weland saga 

Vqlundarqvida ....... 202 

Thid^rekssaga ....... 203 

III and IV. Discussion of evidence regarding the 
Weland saga, and a consideration of its 
historical value 206 

YII. The Burgdndians and Waldere. 

a. The Burgundians ...*... 209 

I. References to the Burgundians in Old English 

poems 209 

II. Foreign authorities containing evidence with 

. regard to the Burgundians . . . .210 

III. IV. The Burgundians in history . . .211 

The Burgundians in saga . . . .213 



Xll 



CONTENTS 



CHAP. PAGE 

b. Waldere, 

Classification of versions of the saga . . . 218 

I. Aleraannic version of Walthari saga 

A. S. Waldere 219' 

Waltharms of Ekkehart I . . . .221 

II. Frankish version of Walthari saga 

Mhg. fragments of Walther und Hildegund . 225 

ThidreJcssaga 225 

III. Comparison of authorities dealing with Walthari 

saga 226 

IV. Historical value of Walthari saga . . . 227 

VIII. The Ermanric Saga 
a. Ermanric. 

I. Ermanric in Old English literature . . . 232 

II. Foreign references to the Ermanric saga . . 233 

Ammianus Marcellinus 234 

Jordanes 234 

Hamdis-mdl ....... 235 

Saxo 236 

Vqlsungasaga 237 

III. Comparison of evidence regarding Ermanric . 238 

h. Ermanric's "Innweorud" 240 

East-Gota, Becca, etc 241 

Theodric 244 

Heathoric and Sifecan, Hlithe and Incgen- 

theow, etc 246 

Wudga and Hama . . . . . . 247 

c. Brosinga mene 250 

IV. Historical background of Ermanric saga . . 253 
Note to Chapter VIII 255 

Conclusion 257 

Appendix I. Nations and Kings visited by Widsith 260 

Appendix II. List of Genealogies . . . 270 

Bibliography 275 



LIST OF CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS 



Aarh. f. nord. Oldkynd. 


Aarh^ger for nordiske Oldkyndighed. 


Ahh. d. Berl. Akad. 


Ahhandlungen der Berliner Akademie. 


Acad. 


Academy. 


A.f.d.A. 


Anzeiger fur deutsches Altertum. 


Alp. 


Alpha7'is Tod. 


Ammian. 


Ammianus Marcellinus. 


Angl. 


Anglia. 


Ann. Quedl. 


Annals of Quedlinhurg. 


Archiv 


Archiv filr das Studium der neueren 




Sprachen und Litteratur. 


Ark. f. nord. Fil. 


Arkiv for nordisk Filologi. 


A. S. Chr. 


Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 


B.B.z.A. 


Bonner Beitrdge zur Anglistik. 


Beo. 


Beowidf. 


Bit. 


Biterolf. 


Bjr. 


Bjarkarimur. 


Bfl, 


Dietriches Flucht. 


D.H.D. 


Danmarks Heltedigtning. 


D.H.S. 


Deutsche Heldensage. 


E.E.T.S. 


Early English Text Society. 


E. W.S. 


Early West Saxon. 


Eny. St. 


Englische Studien. 


Fas. 


Fornaldar Sogur. 


Finn. 


Finn Fragment. 


Gen. Vip. 


Genecdogia Viperti {Xllth century). 


Germ. 


Pfeiffer's Germania. 


Get. 


De rebus Getarum (Jordanes). 


Gr. 


Greek. 


Goth. 


De hello Gotkico {Procopius). 


Greg. Tur. 


Gregory of Tours. 


Grottas. 


Grottasqngr. 


H. B. Ank. 


Anhang zum Heldenbuch. 


Hsg. 


Heldensage. 


Hskr. {Hehnskr.) 


Heimskringla. 


Hrolfss. (Hrss.) 


Hrolfssaga Kraka. 


Hyndl. 


Hyndluljod. 


Icel. 


Icelandic. 


Kl. Schr. 


Kleinere Schriften, 



XIV 



LIST OF CHIEF ABBREVIATIONS 



L. W.S. 


Late West Saxon. 


Ld. 


Lied. 


Lex Burg. 


Lex Burgundionum. 


L.G. 


Low German. 


^gfifg- 


Langfedgatal. 


Ltg. 


Litter aturgeschich te. 


Mhq. 


Middle High German. 


m'l.n. 


Modern Language Notes. 


Man. Germ. Hist. 


Monumenta Germaniae Historica {Pertz). 


Mb. 


Nihelungenlied. 


N.R. 


Neue Reihe. 


O.E. 


Old English. 


O.E.T. 


Oldest English Texts. 


Ohg. 


Old High German. 


O.N. 


Old Norse. 


Paul Grdr. 


PauVs Grundriss der gerinanischen Philo- 




logie. 


F.B.B. 


Paul und Braune^s Beitrdge zur Geschichte 




der Sprache und Litteratur. 


Procop. 


Procopius. 


Q.F. 


Quelleti und Forschungen. 


Rah. 


Rahenschlacht. 


Scand. 


Scandinavian. 


Skcddsk. 


Skdldskapermdl. 


Sn. Ed. 


Snorra Edda. 


S.R.D. 


Scrriptores Rerum Danicarum. 


Sv. Aag. 


Sven Aagesen. 


Thd:s. 


Thidtrekssaga. 


Verhandl. d. Wien. Phil. 


Verhandlungen des Wiener Philosophischen 


Vers. 


Vereins. 


Vqlss. 


Vqlsungasaga. 


Wald. 


Waldere. 


Wids. 


Widsith. 


Wiener S. B. 


Wiener Sitzungsherichte der koniglichen 




Akademie der Wissenschaften. 


Yngls. 


Ynglingasaga. 


Z.f.d.A. 


Zeitschrift fiir deutsches Altertum. 


Z'.P.H. 


Zeitschrift fur deutsche Philologie. 



INTEODUCTOEY CHAPTEE 

5_ About the middle of the fifth century, bands of Teutonic 
invaders began to land on the south-east coasts of Britain. 
The flow of immigration, once started, continued steadily 
for the next hundred years, and by the end of the sixth 
century the new-comers had conquered and colonized a 
great part of the southern half of Britain, pushing the 
Celtic population westward into the mountainous recesses 
of Cornwall, Wales and Cumberland. These Teutonic 
invaders appear, according to the latest authority*, to 
have been of two distinct nationalities, viz. Anglo-Saxon 
and Jutish, who migrated across the sea to Britain from 
Jutland and Schleswig-Holstein. The Jutes, who were 
numerically in the minority, seem very soon to have lost 
their national identity and to have become incorporated 
with the Anglo-Saxon tribes; for their name does not 
long survive, and in the end of the ninth century we find 
King Alfred writing — presumably with reference to the 
whole population — of the nation as Angelcynn and their 
language as Englisc. At the time of the migration the 
English were still heathen, but Christianity was introduced 
in 597, the date of Pope Gregory the Great's first mission 



' Cf. Mr H. M. Chadwick, The Origin of the English Nation, pp. 88 
c. 1 



^<\ 



2 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

to Kent, after which the new faith spread steadily through- 
out the country. 

The settlement of Teutonic tribes in Britain was one 
of the products of the Great Age of National Migrations, 
which corresponds roughly to the fourth, fifth and sixth 
centuries. / These stirring times, when life meant warfare 
and every man was a warrior, gave birth to " hero saga," 
— the record of the lives and exploits of great kings or 
other national heroes — usually in the form of song, i Our 
Teutonic ancestors, like other nations, delighted in such 
songs, which were probably performed before them at 
banquets and on similar occasions. These — still of course 
in an unwritten state — were carried in the mouths and 
memories of the people from the continent to their new 
home, where they very soon attained literary form. Thus, 
during the first centuries of our forefathers' occupation of 
England, signs are found of the existence of an heroic, 
national poetry — essentially heathen in tone — which has 
its roots in the Migration Period, and therefore goes back 
to a time previous to the Teutonic Invasion of Britain. 
There is considerable ground for believing that the poems, 
as they stand, are the work of professional court minstrels 
rather than of regular literary men, and in the case of two 
of them — Widsith and Beor — we have indeed definite 
statements to this effect. But in no event are the poems 
to be regarded as popular ; that is, in their present form 
they do not represent merely the transmission of a common 
stock of oral tradition amongst the untaught masses of 
the people; they are the highly-finished productions of 
men trained to their art, and are probably, in almost every 
case, to all practical intents the work of single poets. 
Judging from the — for the most part fragmentary — 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 3 

survival of our early heroic national poetry, it seems 
likely that only a small part of it has been preserved, but 
notwithstanding this, our literature is richer in this 
respect than that of any other Teutonic nation, and is 
unique in the possession of one complete great epic poem 
dating from this period, viz. the Beowulf. 

The Old English heroic poems possess then more than 
a purely literary interest : they are full of allusions to 
persons, events and traditions of a distant, almost pre- 
historic age. These allusions are, however, for the most 
part, of such an obscure and fragmentary nature as to 
be at times unintelligible, while their interpretation 
presents in every case a considerable amount of difficulty. 

The names of some of the characters which occur in 
the poems are known to us in history, and for one or two 
of the events alluded to or described we have also a sure 
background of historical fact; but the majority of the 
persons referred to, with the deeds ascribed to them, are 
known to us only from the popular traditions and sagas of 
other nations, while some again are unknown from any 
other source whatever. 

The Beowulf which is by far the most important 
specimen of early English national poetry, is an epic poem 
of 3183 lines. The MS., which is preserved in the British 
Museum, dates from the tenth century. In view of the 
many excellent descriptions of the Beowulf which already 
exist it is not proposed to give here more than the briefest 
outline of the argument of the poem : those who have 
the misfortune to be unacquainted with its contents are 
referred to any good history of English literature, where a 
full account of it will be found. 

The scene of the poem is laid entirely in Baltic 

1—2 



4 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

lands : the hero Beowulf belonged to the people of the 
Geatas (i.e. Gotar), who occupied the southern part of 
Sweden*, but the action of the most important part of the 
poem takes place in Denmark, at the court of the Danish 
king, Hrothgar. Lines 1-63 trace the descent of the Danish 
kings from their earliest ancestor, Scyld Scefing, down to 
Hrothgar, who was then on the throne. Lines 64-2199 
relate how Beowulf, a noble warrior and the nephew of 
King Hygelac of the Geatas, freed King Hrothgar's court 
from the ravages of two monsters of the fens — Grendel 
and his mother — by killing them both, and how he returned 
home from the Danish court, covered with glory and laden 
with rich gifts. This section of the poem contains several 
important episodes dealing with persons and events not 
directly concerned in the stor3^ The chief of these are : 
the so-called Finn episode (11. 1068-1159), containing 
the story of Hnaef and Finn (cf. Ch. v), the passage 
referring to Thrytho, the wife of Offa (11. 1931-1962), and 
an account of the relations between the Danish kings 
Hrothgar and Hrothulf (Hrothgar's nephew and joint 
occupant of the throne with him) and the princes of the 
Heathobeardan Froda and Ingeld (11. 2020-2069), 

Some years after the events recorded in the first part 
of the Beowulf, Hygelac fell in battle — as we hear later 
on, he was killed in the land of the Frisians, while 
Beowulf escaped by swimming (11. 2354-2372). He was 
succeeded by his son Heardred, who, how^ever, was slain 
by the Swedish king Onela, for having given sanctuary 

* I.e. with the exception of Skane and, probably, Halland, which 
belonged to Denmark. Blekinge belonged to Denmark in the eleventh 
century and later, but at the time of Wulfstan's voyage (Alfred's Orosius) 
it seems to have belonged to Sweden. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 5 

and showed kindness to Onela's nephews Eanmund and 
Eadgils. Beowulf then became king of Geatland. He 
assisted Eadgils to take vengeance on his uncle Onela, 
and reigned gloriously over his people for fifty years. At 
the end of that time he was killed, as the result of a fight 
with a fiery dragon, whose ravages had reduced the whole 
land to a state of misery. Beowulf was successful in 
slaying the monster, and in setting free the hoards of , 
hidden treasure over which it kept guard, but he was \ 
mortally wounded in the combat. His body was burnt 
on a huge funeral pyre, and over his ashes a large barrow \ 
was erected, in which was placed all the treasure found in \ 
the dragon's den. The poem ends with a panegyric on j 
the dead king, spoken by twelve warriors who rode round ^ 
his barrow (11. 2373-3183). The chief digression from ^ 
the direct course of the narrative in the last section of the 
poem deals with the past history of the royal family of 
the Geatas. 

Of equal importance with the Beowulf, though very 
much shorter, is Widsith*, a poem of 143 lines, chiefly 
of a narrative character, though it cannot, like the Beowulf, 
claim the name of epic. The poem is an account of the 
fortunes of a professional minstrel (such minstrels, as we 
have seen, flourished during the Migration Period), told 
by himself under the figurative name of Widsith (" the 
Far-Travelled "). In the prologue of the poem, the singer 
tells that he belonged to the people of the Myrgingas, 
and that, in company with a princess named Ealhhild, 
he visited the court of the Gothic king Eormenric. From 
1. 10 onwards he gives a list of the chief nations and kings 
known to him, with special reference to any deeds of note 

* MS. Exeter Book. 



f) INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

which are associated with their names*. In 1. 50 the poet 
resumes the thread of his narrative, and gives a further 
account of his travels, again enumerating the nations whom 
he has visited. He also tells of his own skill in song, and 
of the gifts which he received from Guthhere, king of the 
Burgundians, from Alboin in Italy, from Eormenric, king 
of the Goths, and from Eadgils, his own patron, the prince 
of the Myrgingas. Then follows a list of the chief Gothic 
heroes whom the poet visited, most of whom are known 
to us from other sources : two of these, Wudga and Hama, 
are treated at somewhat greater length than the rest, on 
account of their great prowess. The poem closes with a 
short epilogue containing reflections on the lives and 
fortunes of travelling singers. 

^The great importance of Widsith for the history of 

-the Migration Period lies in the catalogues of kings and 
-nations incorporated in the poem, which in many cases 
confirm the evidence of other authorities. The poet has 
apparently gone on the principle of naming in every case 
the most famous king of the nation or tribe in question, 
irrespective of time considerations ; for many of the 
persons mentioned side by side with one another are, as 
we shall see, separated from each other in history by 
large spaces of time. 

The remainder of Old English heroic poetry consists 
but of three fragments, fjmhi', W alder eX and Deor% of 
which the first two are also epic. The Finn fragment is 
apparently part of a lost epic, which — if we can make any 

* Many of these are already familiar figures, while others are quite 
unknown. 

+ MS. lost. X MS. in Royal Library, Copenhagen. 

§ MS. Exeter Book. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 7 

surmises from the Beowulf — was probably of considerable 
length. It deals with the same story as that referred to 
in the so-called Finn episode of th ejeowulf (11. 1068- 
1159). (Cf. Ch. V, pp. 177lP.) ^ 

The other two poems, Waldere and Deor, go off into 
quite a new field for their subject-matter. The two 
Waldere fragments — presumably like Finn, part of an 
epic poem — deal with the Walthari saga, of which several 
continental (chiefly German) versions exist : this saga was 
a very favourite theme of song and story on the continent 
all through the Middle Ages. (Cf Ch. vii, B.) 

Deors Lament is a short elegy and the only Old 
English poem in strophic form which has survived : like 
Widsith it purports to be the work of a court minstrel, 
but, in marked contrast to that poem, is an outburst of 
grief, describing the troubles attending a singer's career, 
and the misfortunes which have fallen in his later life on 
the minstrel himself, who has been ousted from his office 
as bard of the Heodeningas by a rival singer. The value 
of the poem for us lies in the references made by the poet 
to well-known cjiaracters of JbheJEIeroic Age^ whose mis- 
fortunes he cites in order to illustrate his-^wn unhappy 
state. The poem consists of six strophes of unequal 
length, each of which ends with the refrain Thaes ofer- 
eode, ihisses swd maeg ! (" That came to an end, this 
may likewise "). 

Old English, like other early- northern poetry, is 
written in alliterative metre, and it is generally supposed 
that all old Teutonic poetry, in addition to being allitera- 
tive, was strophic. The extant Old Norse heroic poems 
are without exception in this form, and there are distinct 
traces of a similar structure in Widsith, while in Deor the 



8 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

division into strophes is made quite clear by the recurrence 
— unique in Old English poetry — of a lyrical refrain at 
the end of each. Strenuous attempts have been made to 
reconstruct the Beowulf in strophic form, but so far with- 
out success*. 

We have evidence for only the most general conclusions 
with regard to the age of the Old English heroic poems. 
None of the MSS. date from before the tenth century, 
but the poems themselves belong without doubt to a very 
much earlier period, for the subject-matter of all of them, 
as we have seen, relates to the continental period of our 
nation's history. 

The Beowulf, as will be seen more clearly at a later 
stage, contains no reference to any event known to have 
taken place after the middle of the sixth century, and 
there is, further, no evidence of communication between 
England and the Baltic lands for about two hundred years 
onward from that time. It is a reasonable presumption, 
therefore, that all the information regarding the persons 
and events celebrated in the Beowulf had reached Eng- 
land by the middle of the sixth century, and that the 
materials for the poem and even songs on the subject 
were already in circulation within the next fifty years, 
that is, before the close of the century. 

Yet another circumstance has to be taken into account 
in determining the probable age of the Beowulf All the 
ceremonies described in the poem are heathen, and the 
poet is perfectly conversant with heathen rites. An instance 
in point is the practice of cremation, which is described 
in detail (11. 3110-3183). Now this practice must have 
died out early in England, for we nowhere hear of the 
* Cf. also Cambridge History of English Literature, p. 219. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 9 

Christian missionaries forbidding it, as they did elsewhere, 
and as they certainly would have done in England, had 
the occasion arisen. As missionary activity spread very 
quickly over England after the introduction of Christi- 
anity in 597, it is therefore difficult, taking this and other 
circumstances into account, to place the composition of 
the Beowulf, as a whole, later than the earlier part of the 
seventh century (c. 630)*. The Christian invocations and 
other passages were probably added when objection began 
to be made to the heathen background of the poem. 
There are difficulties in the way of assigning the compo- 
sition of the Beowulf to any one part of England, but the 
language of the poem seems on the whole to indicate that 
the first MS. was of Anglian origin. 

The Widsith can make perhaps a claim to even greater 
antiquity than the Beowulf The poet represents himself 
as contemporary with Ermanric, the great king of the 
Ostrogoths, who is known to have died c. 375 (Amm. 
Marc. XXXI. 3, 1), and characters belonging to the same 
period predominate in the poem. But there are also 
references of a later date, and the latest-known historical 
character alluded to (in the poem) is Alboin (O.E. Aelf- 
wine), king of Lombardy, who died c. 572 (cf. Paulus 
Diac. Hist. Langob. i, 27). The most recent hypothesis 
with regard to the composition of Widsith f is that it is 
based on the work of an unknown fourth-century minstrel : 
this existing nucleus was at a later time added to and 
enlarged, with the idea of following out the earlier poet's 

* For a different view, cf. L. Morsbach, " Zur Datierung des Beowulf 
Epos " (aus den Nachrichten der k. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu 
G'dttingen, 1906). 

t Cf. Cambridge History of English Literature^ i, p. 36. 



10 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

apparent intention, and making the poem a kind of 
encyclopaedia of national heroes and their deeds. As such, 
in fact, it is invaluable to us, for no poem goes further 
back in its description of persons and events of the Heroic 
Age than Widsith. 

Little positive evidence can be adduced regarding the 
date of composition of Finn, W alder e and Deor. There 
is nothing to prevent us assigning them to the same 
period as Beowulf Sbud Widsith, for they contain very few 
allusions to events which took place even as late as the 
first half of the sixth century, and if the account of the 
authorship of Deor which we possess is reliable, the poem 
must be of very great age indeed. In any case it seems 
improbable that the composition of any of the Old English 
heroic poems is to be placed later than the first part of 
the seventh century. The Christian element present in 
the poems is quite foreign to their main structure and 
tendency, and may probably be attributed to monastic 
revision at a later date, which revision did not, however, 
otherwise affect their form or contents to any appreciable 
extent. 

It may be thought that too much space has been 
devoted to a consideration of the age of these poems, but 
the question is an important one, inasmuch as it is just 
their age which determines their value as historical 
evidence. (What we have learned so far on this point 
only increases our regard for the poems as amongst the 
most reliable documentary evidence which we possess 
regarding the events of the Migration Period, and the 
circumstantial nature of the facts which they relate tends 
to show, further, that their contents were not regarded in 
any way as accounts of legendary or mythical exploits, 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 11 

but as records of the most recent history, which had a 
claim on the attention and interest of the nation as a 
whole. 

About a hundred years ago the scholastic world awoke 
to the existence of the Old English heroic poems, which 
have proved themselves a most fruitful subject of study 
and discussion ever since. It is difficult to estimate the 
amount of erudition and industry which has been lavished 
on these poems — on their every line and almost every 
word — chiefly by foreign authors. The pioneers in this 
study were Thorkelin and Grundtvig, Danish scholars, 
and Kemble, an Englishman, to whom we owe the first 
really critical edition of the Beowulf and Widsiih in 1833. 
Kemble's edition was only superseded in 1857 by Grein's, 
which included all the heroic poems in addition to many 
others, and which — revised by R. P. Wtilcker, 1881-3 — 
has remained the standard edition up to the present 
time notwithstanding the presence of many rivals in the 
field*. 

It is impossible here to do more than very briefly 
touch on the work of one or two of the principal writers 
on this subject. Besides those already mentioned, the 
names of Grimm, H. Moller, Ten Brink, Sarrazin, Bugge, 
Olrik, and above all, Mullenhofif, stand out from amongst 
a host of scholars who have made these poems, and in 
particular the Beowulf, the subject of special study. The 
first impulse towards the systematic historical investiga- 
^tion of the Beowulf was given at an early stage, for by 
1820 Grundtvig had discovered the identity of Hygelac, 
king of the Geatas, who figures in the poem, with Chochi- 
laicus, whom the historian Gregory of Tours reports to 
* For chief Beowulf editions, cf. Bibliography at end of book. 



12 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

have been killed by the Franks c. 520*. Thus one time- 
point in the story was fixed, and interest in this aspect of 
the poems having been once aroused, soon developed in 
the works of Kemble, Grein, Miillenhoff and many others. 
Curious, hitherto-unnoticed coincidences of names and of 
descriptions and events between the Old English poems 
and continental — chiefly Scandinavian — poems, sagas, 
and historical works of a later date began to be discovered, 
and when attention had been called to these, the clues 
were followed up — and are still being followed — with 
great zeal and with excellent results throughout the whole 
of early Teutonic literature. Much information valuable 
for the interpretation of the Old English poems has also 
been obtained from the works of early historians (cf inf. 
p. 23). 

The poems, owing to the extremely meagre data which 
exist concerning them, offer a wide field for conjecture, of 
which in some cases full advantage has certainly been 
taken ; for Grundtvig, Sarrazin, Bugge and others go 
even the length of attributing a Scandinavian origin to 
the Beowulf \ As a rule too, great weight has been laid 
on the mythological aspect of the Beowulf which has 
sometimes indeed been allowed to overshadow its historical 
significance f. Of all those who have approached the poem 
from this side the greatest is probably Miillenhoff. His 
view, which has been shared by many others, but which 
in the light of subsequent study it is very difficult to 
accept, is that Beowulf's exploits against Grendel and his 
mother are of purely mythical interest, although Beowulf 

"" Grundtvig, Bjowulfs Drape, Copenhagen, 1820. 
t This remark is specially applicable to the works of Kemble, Leo 
and Ettmuller. 



INTRODUCTOKY CHAPTER 13 

in his relation to Hygelac, Hrothgar, etc. is probably to be 
regarded as an historical figure. There is still a tendency 
amongst many scholars to emphasize the mythical element 
in the poems, and though there can be no doubt that 
such an element is present in them, it is equally certain 
that its importance has been much over-rated in the past. 
Although much has been done along the lines of the 
historical investigation of the English heroic poems, much 
still remains to do : but the good results already obtained 
give promise of a not too far distant time when research 
shall have firmly established their position as historical 
documents, as well as the actual value of the characters 
and events which they describe. 

Note. — In the following chapters there will be frequent 
occasion to quote, and otherwise refer to, works of Scandi- 
navian origin. It has therefore been thought desirable 
to add to this chapter a brief survey of Old Norse litera- 
ture. This section can make, however, no claim to 
completeness, as it only professes to deal with those 
works of Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic literature 
which contribute in some way towards the elucidation 
of the Old English heroic poems. 

Outline Sketch of Old Norse Literature*. 

The expression "Old Norse" is commonly used as tb^ 
generic term to cover both Old Norwegian and Old \ 
Icelandic literature : for the latter, as it were, grew out 
of and inherited the greatness of the former. Iceland 

* The materials for this section have been drawn from F. Jonsson, 
Den oldnorshe Litteraturs Historie, 2 Bd. Copenhagen, 1898-1902, and 
E. Mogk, in Paul's Gi-undriss, Vol. ii, pp. 71 — 142. 



14 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

was politically an offspring of Norway, and was founded 
in the last quarter of the ninth century (870), by those 
Norwegian chiefs who were dissatisfied with the newly 
assumed supremacy of Harold FaiczHair, and who left 
their country in order to obtain freedom in voluntary 
exile. The new democratic state founded on the western 
shores of Iceland enjoyed complete political independence 
for four centuries : but during that time, although they 
refused to acknowledge Norwegian supremacy, the Ice- 
landers never lost their " national Norwegian self-con- 
sciousness," but preserved throughout a close bond of 
union with the mother-country. Movements, begun in 
Norway, developed and came to fruition in Iceland. The 
history of culture and literature in the two countries 
during these centuries cannot be separated, for it really 
forms one contiguous growth, towards which the existence 
up to the twelfth century of a common language was a 
powerful contributory factor. 

The literary, like the political history of Norway, does 
not really begin until the ninth century, and in O.N. 
literature three periods are clearly distinguishable, the 
outstanding features of which may be tabulated as 
follows : 

I. Scaldic Period. 

From the beginning of historical times, i.e. 
c. 850-1100. 

Edda and scaldic poems. 

II. Saga Period. 

c. 1100-c. 1300. 

Original prose works, viz. sagas and laws. 
Translations : revisions of sagas. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 15 

III. Copying and Collecting Period. 

c. 1300-c. 1450. 

(1) Copying and collecting of older works. 

(2) Writing of annals and rhyming poems. 

I. The Edda Poems are anonj^mous poems in simple 
metre, the subjects of which were first drawn from the 
ancient northern mythological system, and later on — like 
O.E. heroic poetry — from hero saga. In view of their 
language and metre these poems are assigned by the 
best authority to various dates between c. 850 and c. 1050. 
The great majority are probably of Norwegian origin, and 
they appear — once more like the O^E^h^eroic__pQfi^ms — to 
hav e been th^ -jgork of professional minstrels. Closely 
allied to, and a secondary development of Eddie poetry, 
was scaldic song, which was, however, of a much more 
formal and elaborate nature. The scaldic poems also 
made use of oral tradition, mythology and hero saga, but 
unlike those of the Edda, which were of general import, 
they always celebrated the person or deeds of a king or 
prince, and thus had a special signi ficance . 

The scalds, in fact, probably cultivated their art fully 
as much from a practical as from a poetic point of view, 
as a young warrior immediately made a name and procured 
himself advancement by the composition of songs in praise 
of his master. 

We are here directly concerned with only a few of the 
Eddie poems. Undoubtedly one of the oldest of them is 
Skirnismdl^, dating probably from c. 900. It is an ardent 
love poem and relates how the Qod Frey passionately 
loved a maiden named Gerda, and how he at last won her 
love in return. 



16 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

^ Vgliindarqvida^ belongs to almost the same period as 
Skirnismdl. It dates, according to Finnur Jonsson, from 
the first quarter of the tenth century, and deals with 
one aspect of the well-known Weland saga. Of later 
date, from the second half of the tenth century, is Grotta- 
SQiigr^y the mill-song sung by two giant handmaidens, who 
grind out, first wealth and peace but then death and 
destruction, to the tyrant king their master who will 
grant them no rest from their labours (cf. p. 75). The 
poem unites myth with hero saga, and the story of the 
mill seems to symbolize the Golden Age of peace and 
security, before the entrance of discord. 

Hyndluljod^, which in contents forms a transition from 
myth to hero saga, belongs to approximately the same date 
as Grottas. It is the account of a conversation between 
the Goddess Freyja and the giantess Hyndla, and its im- 
portance for us lies in the genealogies of various families 
which Hyndla recites at the request of the Goddess. 

A number of the Eddie poems deal with the exploits 
of Sigurd, the dragon-slayer — the famous Siegfried of 
German hero saga. Sigy^d, although of little importance 
in the present connection, was one of the chief heroic 
figiires_of_ the Migration Period, and as such necessarily 
\enters to some extent into any attempt to reconstruct the 
history of that period. 

We must finally note the fragmentary Bjarkamdl^ 
which appears to have been originally a poem celebrating 
the death of Bgdvar-Bjarki, the famous warrior of the 
Danish king Hrolf Kraki, but of which only a few lines 
have been preserved. 

The only two specimens of scaldic poetry to which we 
shall have to refer are Eiriksmdl and Hdkonarmdl, both 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 17 

of which have, in theme and treatment, much in common 
with the heroic poems of the Edda. The former is an 
anonymous poem on the death of King Eric Blood-Axe 
(a.d. 950), composed by order of his widow. Hdkoiiarmdl 
is a similar poem — in fact an imitation of EMksmdl — in 
honour of King Hakon the Good (a.d. 961), written by 
the scald Eyvind Fimsson, the devoted follower of Hakon 
and himself of royal blood. Both poems follow the device 
common to scaldic poetry of deriving the genealogy of 
the prince in question from the Gods, and of connecting 
him with the life in Valhalla. Eyvind was one of the 
last great Norwegian scalds, for by the end of the tenth 
century, scaldic poetry had emigrated to the new settle- 
ment in Iceland, which was henceforth regarded as its 
home* Up to this time, i.e. for about a hundred years 
after the first settlers landed in Iceland, the process of 
colonization and settling of the land had continued. It 
was only now, when a period of comparative peace 
succeeded that of internal dissension, that the age of 
Iceland's literary greatness began, culminating at the end 
of th3 twelfth and the first half of the thirteenth century 
in the works of Snorri and Sturla. 

II. The Saga Period, c. 1100-c. 1300, is the Golden 
Age of Northern literature. The historical prose saga was 
a distinctively Icelandic growth, and arose from the Ice- 
landers' love of recording their genealogies, and from the 
weight which they laid on a good pedigree. These narra- 
tives of individuals or of families were told first as a 

* In Bravallakvad, the song of the Battle of Bravalla, which is 
contained in Saxo's history (see beginning of Book viii) and there 
attributed to Starkad, Dr Olrik sees the remains of a Norwegian scaldic 
poem, dating probably from about the middle of the eleventh century. 

c. 2 



18 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

means of entertainment {at skemta) round the fire on 
the long winter evenings, but they are of enormous 
historical and sociological importance, for almost all we 
know of northern family and intellectual life, culture, 
architecture, and heathen religion is derived from them. 

The climax of the period was reached in the work of 
Snorri Sturlason, perhaps the greatest figure in the whole 
history of O.N. literature. Snorri lived from 1178-1241. 
To his great literary ability he added civic distinction, 
and was well known both as a politician and diplomatist, 
Snorri was greatest as a prose writer and pre-eminently 
as an historian, for not only did he test all his sources 
most carefully, but he possessed the power— invaluable 
to the writing of good history — of discriminating between 
true and false, between good authority and bad. His 
greatest work is Heimskringla^ , which belongs to the 
period 1220-1230. The title of the work means *'the 
Globe," and it is a history of the kings of Norway from 
the earliest times up to the year 1177, based partly on 
tradition, partly on scaldic verses and partly on previous 
written works. Heimskringla is composed of a series of 
single sagas, but these Snorri has skilfully linked up to 
form one complete whole. The first of them is Ynglinga- 
saga, being an account of the earliest kings of south 
Norway and their Swedish ancestors, and forming a kind 
of introduction to the work. It is based on the Ynglinga- 
tal of the scaldic poet Thjodolf, who lived about the end 
of the ninth century. The only other section of Ilskr. to 
which we shall have to refer is St Olafssagay containing 
the history of the reign of St Olaf (1016-1029). 

Snorri, in addition to his other claims to fame, was a 
poet of some note, but he lived at a time when scaldic 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 19 

poetry had become highly artificial, and his own verses 
owe more to art than to inspiration : they are remarkable 
for their technical skill, and the author's intimate know- 
ledge of prosody and the laws of versification is further 
manifested in the prose Edda. The Edda is a treatise 
in three parts illustrative of the art of poetry. The first 
part — Gylfaginning — contains a survey of northern myth- 
ology, and a description of the courses of the world and of 
nature. The second and third parts — Skdldskaparmdl 
and Hdttatal — are concerned with the nature of poetry, 
and deal, as their names imply*, with language and metre 
respectively. Skdldskaparmdl ("poetical diction") illus- 
trates, by examples drawn from myth and hero saga, the 
peculiar figures of speech, and in particular the "kennings," 
i.e. artificial circumlocutions, commonly used by the scalds. 
Hdttatal is a poem illustrating by example every known 
kind of metre. The Edda, which was completed about 
1222, still holds its own as an excellent handbook on the 
language and technique of the verse of that time. It is 
systematic and well arranged, and Snorri has brought to 
bear on his materials great knowledge, a love of his 
subject, and much critical insight. 

In Hskr. and the prose Edda Snorri refers to one of 
his authorities as the Skjgldungasaga. The greater part 
of this work is lost ; a sixteenth-century scholar, Arngrim 
Jonsson, has, however, preserved some fragments of it 
which he published in 1597 under the title Rerum Dani- 
carum Fragmenta (repr. Aarh. f. nord. Oldk. 1894). 
Skjglds. was probably composed about 1200; it is believed 
to have contained an account of the earliest kings of Den- 

* Skdldskapr — sealdship; mdl — speech, i.e. the speech of poetry. 
Hdttr — metre; tal — list, i.e. a list of metres. 

2—2 



20 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

mark, and may very possibly have been intended as a 
prologue to a history of the kings of Denmark. It 
would thus form a parallel to Ynglingasaga, which stands 
as a prologue to Heimskringla the history of the kings 
of Norway. This work, could it be recovered, would be 
of very great value to us, for it seems likely that the 
relations between Denmark and Sweden during the period 
covered by the action of the Beowulf, as represented not 
only by Snorri but by all works subsequent to c. 1200, 
were derived from this source. 

By the thirteenth century the decay of the saga 
had already set in in Iceland, largely on account of (a) a 
prevalent literary tendency to compile and add to already 
existing materials, and (b) a growing taste for the French 
mediaeval romances. This led to the introduction of all 
sorts of extraneous matter into the sagas, often of an 
extravagant nature, and the historical sense, the sincerity 
and truthfulness, which had hitherto been their outstand- 
ing characteristic, became in great part lost. Grettissaga^ 
and Ormspdttr Stordlfsson^, both composed about the 
year 1300, are examples of this tendency. The ground- 
work of both sagas is historical, but many folk-tales and 
legendary traits are introduced, which gives them a 
romantic and altogether post-classical tone. 

The chief product of the post-classical saga period 
in Iceland consists of the so-called Fornaldar Sggur"^, 
i.e. Old-Time Sagas. These dealt with historical, pseudo- 
historical or purely fictitious characters, and were usually 
compiled from a number of single episodes: sat sammen 
was the phrase employed to describe their composition. 
The Fornaldar Sggur cannot, like the historical sagas, be 
considered reliable, for they were designed merely to 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 21 

amuse, and drew largely on myth and fairy lore for their 
contents. Many of them also took their materials from 
foreign sources. There is some evidence for the existence 
of the Fornaldar Sggar as early as the twelfth century, 
but they were probably first committed to paper in the 
latter half of the thirteenth, as for long they were not 
considered worthy of being written down. We shall 
have to take account of several of these in our present 
survey. 

The Thi^rekssaga^ deals with the life and deeds of 
Thidrek, i.e. Dietrich of Bern, the great figure of German 
hero saga. The chief sources of this saga were probably 
songs and stories which were carried to Scandinavian 
lands by North German traders at the end of the twelfth 
and beginning of the thirteenth century. These materials 
were collected and worked up into a complete saga pro- 
bably before the middle of the thirteenth century. The 
composition of the Thictrekssaga may have been due in 
part to the love of chivalry and of the saga of chivalry 
which prevailed in the north during the reign of Hakon 
the Old (1217-1263); on the other hand, it reacted on 
current taste by increasing a love of foreign literature, 
and thus affected indirectly both literary language and 
style. 

One of the best of the Fornaldar Sggur (Fas.) in style 
and composition is the Hervarar oc Heidrekssaga'^ , which 
in the trenchant simplicity of its language and characteri- 
sation recalls the poems of the older Edda. A good 
deal of the action of the story takes place amongst the 
Huns and Goths, and the saga is unique amongst the 
Fas. in the information which it gives about these 
peoples. 



22 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

Hrolfssaga Kraka'^ is a compilation of several detached 
episodes dating in its present form probably from the 
later fourteenth century. The work is lacking in unity, 
and several of its episodes have little direct connection 
with the king from whom it takes its name. The saga 
must without doubt at one time have existed in an earlier 
and better form. 

SgrlaJ^dttr^ , which is in some MSS. more rightly 
entitled " Sagas about Hedin and Hggni," is peculiar 
on account of its mythical framework, which, although 
corrupt, is doubtless derived from old tradition. It 
cannot date from before the first half of the fourteenth 
century. 

III. Bjarkarimur^ (" The Rhymes of Bjarki ") deals 
with the same set of events as those which form the 
subject matter of the Hrolfss., and is the only rhyming 
poem which falls under our consideration. It belongs to 
c. 1400, and, judging from its language and metre, belongs 
to the oldest group of rhymes. The form of tradition 
contained in Bjr. is nearly related to that of Skjglds., 
and the authority of the poem is, therefore, valuable. 

The Flateyjarhok^'^ , which takes its name from the 
island of Flatey to the north of Iceland, is a great 
collection of sagas about Norwegian kings, written, or 
rather compiled, from older sources by two Icelandic 
priests between the years 1387 and 1395. It also 
contains annals up to the year 1394. The Flateyjarbok, 
in spite of many defects, still remains a most valuable 
authority for the history of Norwegian politics and culture. 

Landndmabok. Landndmahok is really an inventory 
of Iceland from the time of its first colonization, but 
contains many anecdotes and tales in addition to the 



INTRODUCTOKY CHAPTER 23 

names and genealogies of the settlers. The book exists 
in three texts, by different authors, all from the twelfth 
century, and the original compilation of the work under- 
lying these must have been made about the beginning of 
that century. 

There is still another class of authorities from whose 
works has been obtained much information valuable for 
the interpretation of the Old English poems, viz. professed 
historical writers, but these are difficult to characterise 
collectively, as they belong to a variety of ages and 
nationalities. The earliest of them are Tacitus and Pliny 
in the end of the first century, w^hile the latest to whom 
we shall have occasion to refer are a little group of 
mediaeval Danish historians who flourished about 1200, 
and the chief of whom was Saxo Grammaticus. All these 
early chroniclers, being learned men, wrote in the learned 
tongues, viz. Greek or Latin. For our subject Saxo far 
surpasses any of the others in importance. His great 
work Historia Danica^^ carries back the history of Den- 
mark to the very earliest times. The first books are 
probably chiefly based on oral tradition, and form a history 
of northern myth and saga the importance of which it is 
difficult to over-estimate. 

N.B. — The German poems and sagas, to which reference 
may be made in the following pages, are generally known, 
and it has, therefore, not been considered necessary to add 
here any description of them. 

1. Edda Saemundar^ ed. Th. Mobius. Leipzig, 1860. 

2. Corpus Poeticum Boreale, ed. Vigfusson and Powell. Oxford, 

1883. Vol. I, p. 188. 

3. ffeimskringla, Noregs Konunga Sggur, ed. F. Jonsson. 

Copenhagen, 1893-1900. 



24 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 

4. Snorra Edda, ed. Thorleifr Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1875. 

5. Altnordische Saga-Bibliotkek, vols, viii and ix, ed. Boer. Halle, 

1900. 

6. Flateyjarhohy vol. i, pp. 521-532, see below. 

7. Fornaldar Sggur Nordrlmida^ ed. Rafn. Copenhagen, 1829. 

Hervarar oc Heidrekssagay vol. i, pp. 409 fF. 
Hrolfssaga Kraka^ vol. i, pp. 1 fF. 

SQrlaJ)dttry vol. i, pp. 389 ff. - 

Vglssungasaga, vol. i, pp. 113 £f. 

8. Saga Thidreks konungs af Bern, ed. C. R. linger. Christiania, 

1853. 

9. Hrolfssaga Kraka and Bjarkarimur, ed. F. Jonsson. Copen- 

hagen, 1904. 

10. Flateyjarhok, ed. C. R. linger. Christiania, 1868. 

11. Landndmabok, ed. F. Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1900. 

12. Saxonis Grammatici Gesta Danorum, qA. A.. Holder. Strassburg, 

1886. Books i-ix, translated into English by 0. Elton. 
Niitt. London, 1894. 



CHAPTER I 

THE GEATAS. 

I. The Geatas in Beowulf and Widsith. 

A prominent part is played in Beoioulf by the Geatas. 
Beowulf himself, whose exploits form the subject of the 
poem, belonged to the royal family of the Geatas on his 
mother's side, and other members of the same family occur 
frequently throughout the poem. 

The scattered references to the Geatas when collected 
and arranged yield a fairly connected, although meagre, 
account of the history of this people during the period 
with which the poem deals. The account of Beowulf's 
expedition against Grendel forms a complete epic nar- 
rative, which is quite independent of the fortunes of the 
royal family of the Geatas, and will, therefore, be discussed 
separately. 

The Geatas are merely mentioned in passing by the 
Widsith poet : the traveller speaks of having visited them 
in the course of his travels ( Wids. 11. 57 f.). 

The genealogy of the royal family of the Geatas 
appears from Beowulf to have been as follows : 



26 THE GEATAS 

Hrethel Hasreth 



I 1 — 1 1 I 1 

daughter Herebeald Haethcyn Hygelac = Hygd Hereric? Wonred 

= Ecgtheow I ' 1 I ' 

I Heardred daughter = Eofor 

Beowulf 

The first king of the Geatas of whom there is explicit mention 
is Hrethel. Hrethel's son Hygelac is described as nefa Swertings 
(1. 1203), but as the meaning of the word nefa varies in A.S. this 
expression is too vague for us to draw any definite conclusions as to the 
relationship between Hrethel and Swerting. 

King Hrethel had three sons, Herebeald, Haethcyn, 
and Hygelac, and one daughter who wa.s married to 
Ecgtheow and became the mother of Beowulf (11. 373-5). 
At the age of seven Beowulf was adopted by his grand- 
father, Hrethel, and brought up with the royal princes 
his young uncles (11. 2428 ff.). Hrethel's eldest son, 
Herebeald, was accidentally killed by an arrow shot by his 
brother, Haethcyn, and this occurrence preyed upon the 
mind of King Hrethel to such an extent that he died of 
a broken heart (11. 2435-2471). He was succeeded by 
Haethcyn, whose reign does not, however, seem to have 
been of long duration. It appears that shortly after 
Hrethel's death, strife broke out between the Geatas and 
the Swedes (Svear), but the course of the campaign is 
obscure. The sons of Ongentheow, king of Sweden, made 
a series of raids on the territory of the Geatas in the 
neighbourhood of Hreosna-beorh (11. 2472-2478), and 
Haethcyn apparently retaliated by carrying war into the 
heart of the enemy's country, in the course of which he 
succeeded in taking prisoner Ongentheow's queen. Ongen- 
theow then appears to have sallied out against the Geatas 
before they had time to get away with their spoil. In a 
great battle near Hrefnesholt he regained his queen and 
killed Haethcyn. Haethcyn's younger brother, Hygelac, 



THE GEATAS 27 

then assumed chief command of the Geatas, and showed 
conspicuous bravery by marching into the wood and rescu- 
ing Haethcjn's troops, which had been surrounded there 
by Ongentheow after the fall of their leader. This exploit 
turned the tide of events, and, the army of the Geatas 
having been relieved, a second battle immediately took 
place, in which the Swedes began to get the worst of it, 
and fell back, pursued by the Geatas, Ongentheow being 
singled out for attack by the brothers Wulf and Eofor. 
Wulf and Ongentheow met first and Ongentheow felled 
his opponent with a blow; this was, however, quickly 
avenged by Eofor, who, with one mighty stroke, clove the 
skull of the Swedish king. After the victorious home- 
coming of the Geatas, Hygelac rewarded Wulf and Eofor 
for their services with gifts of treasure and land, while to 
Eofor he also gave his only daughter in marriage 
(11. 2479-2489, 2922-3007). 

Hygelac's wife was Hygd, the daughter of Haereth 
(1. 1929): but as, after Beowulf's return from Heorot, 
she is spoken of as " the very young Hygd " (1. 1926), it 
seems impossible that she should have had a daughter of 
marriageable age at the beginning of her husband's reign. 
The question, therefore, arises, whether Hygd was not the 
second wife of Hygelac, and the latter had not a previous 
wife, of whom we hear nothing in the Beowulf. 

There is no further reference in the poem to any events 
of Hygelac's reign previous to his fatal expedition against 
the Franks, Frisians, and Hugas, but Beowulf s visit to the 
court of Hrothgar, and his exploit in killing the monster 
Grendel, must, of course, belong to this interval. 

Various scattered and fragmentary references are made 
in the poem to Hygelac's ill-starred expedition against the 



28 THE GEATAS 

Frisians and Franks. Hygelac himself waS slain in Fries- 
land by the combined forces of Franks and Frisians 
{sometimes designated by the poet as Hetware and Hugas 
(11. 2914 ff. Cf. Appendix I, p. 268), while Beowulf escaped 
by swimming; he is reported to have carried away with 
him thirty* coats of mail. 

On his return home Beowulf was offered the throne 
by the widowed Hygd, Hygelac's son Heardred being as 
yet only a boy. Beowulf would not accept the throne, 
but he offered to act as Heardred's guide and adviser till 
the young king should reach mature years. Heardred 
was, however, killed shortly afterwards by an attack made 
on the Geatas by Onela, king of Sweden. (For a fuller 
treatment of this incident, cf. Chap, ill on Swedish tra- 
ditions.) (11. 2354-2390.) 

Beowulf was then chosen king of the Geatas, and is 
reported to have reigned gloriously for fifty years, but the 
history of his reign is a blank, except for a mention of the 
assistance which he rendered Eadgils, an exiled prince, in 
what proved a successful endeavour to obtain the Swedish 
throne. As Onela was killed by the combined forces of 
Eadgils and Beowulf, the expedition also served from the 
point of view of the latter as a revenge for the death of 
Heardred (11. 2208 f , 2390-2396). 

Beowulf was killed in an attempt to free his people 
from the ravages of a dragon which devastated the land ; 
he slew the dragon, and obtained the stores of hoarded 
treasure over which it kept guard, but was mortally 
wounded in the fight, and died immediately after achiev- 
ing his triumph over the monster. At the end of the 

"" We may notice in passing that the strength in Beowulf's arm is 
■elsewhere said to equal that of thirty men (cf. 1. 380). 



THE GEATAS 29 

first bout in the long struggle Beowulf's warriors, panic- 
stricken at the terrible appearance of the fire-spewing 
dragon, all deserted him with the exception of the faithful 
Wiglaf, the son of Weohstao, a Swedish knight (cf. inf. 
p. 153), who stayed with him to the end and in whose 
arms he expired. The body of Beowulf was burned on a 
huge funeral pyre raised by his sorrowing people (11. 2496- 
3183). 

The account of Beowulf's expedition to the court of 
Hrothgar, king of the Danes, and of the exploits which he 
there performed, is briefly as follows : 

Hrothgar, king of the Danes, had built for himself and 
his court a great hall which he called Heorot ; this hall 
was rendered uninhabitable by the ravages of Grendel, a 
gigantic monster, half beast, half man, who had his home 
in the marshy fen-lands near at hand. At night, after 
court had been held in Heorot, Grendel would steal up 
from the fens, and snatch away for his prey as many as 
thirty of Hrothgar's sleeping thanes. These ravages had 
continued for twelve years. 

Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow, thane of Hygelac, and a 
warrior of great strength, had heard of Grendel's inroads, 
and resolved to undertake an expedition to Denmark in 
hopes of being able to free the land from this scourge. 

With fourteen companions, Beowulf sailed across the 
sea to Denmark : on their arrival, the warriors were 
warmly received by King Hrothgar, to whom Beowulf 
was already well known both by name and reputation. 

Beowulf, having stated his name and errand, gave, 
after the fashion of these times, a long account of all his 
previous exploits, the most important of which was his 
swimming-match with Breca. Hrothgar, in his turn, told 



30 THE GEATAS 

of Grendel's inroads, and of the reign of terror under 
which he and his men had lived at Heorot for so long. 
At nightfall, Hrothgar and all his household retired to 
rest, leaving Beowulf and his men to guard the hall, 
but Beowulf alone remained awake keeping watch for 
Grendel. 

When all was still, up from the fen-land stalked Grendel 
on his nightly visitation to the hall Heorot ; breaking 
into the hall, he seized and devoured one of the sleeping 
thanes, but before he had time to snatch a second, Beowulf 
(who was unarmed) closed with him in a desperate hand- 
to-hand struggle. They struggled and strained for a long 
space, until at last, with a mighty effort, the monster 
succeeded in breaking away; but he left his hand and 
arm in Beowulf's grip, and got back to the fen only 
to die. 

In the morning there was great rejoicing at Heorot 
over Beowulf's victory. The day was passed in feasting, 
and Hrothgar bestowed many rich gifts on Beowulf and 
his followers in recognition of the service they had rendered 
him. Next evening the warriors went to rest in light- 
hearted assurance of safety, which was rudely disturbed 
by the avenging entrance of Grendel's mother : Beowulf 
being absent, she snatched away, unhindered, Aeschere, 
the most beloved of Hrothgar 's thanes. Joy was thus 
again turned to sorrow. In the morning Hrothgar ap- 
pealed to Beowulf to avenge the outrage, and gave him 
a description of the water-fiend and her haunts in the 
fens. Beowulf expressed himself willing to undertake the 
adventure, and attended by the blessings of his companions 
he pursued the monster to her home at the bottom of a 
lake ; with him he took the sword Hrunting which had 



THE GEATAS 31 

been lent by Unferth, the thyle or " spokesman " of 
Hrothgar's court, but it proved of no avail against the 
troll. He then tried to overpower his opponent in a 
wrestling-bout, but in spite of his immense strength she 
had almost overpowered him, when Beowulf, laying hold 
of an old sword which he found amongst the war-gear 
lying in the den, succeeded in killing the monster. 

On rising to the surface of the lake, Beowulf was 
received with great joy by his companions, who had almost 
given him up for lost ; together, they returned to Heorot, 
where rejoicing and feasting were renewed. Beowulf 
had brought back with him various trophies of his victory, 
amongst them Grendel's head, which four men had to 
carry back across the fens to Heorot. 

In recognition of his great services Hrothgar again 
gave Beowulf many rich gifts. The Geatas then took 
their leave, and with many regrets set sail from Denmark. 
On their return Beowulf related his adventures to 
Hygelac, and presented him with a helmet, sword, and 
coat of mail, which were among the gifts which he had 
received from Hrothgar: Hygelac, on his side, rewarded 
Beowulf richly for the valour which he had displayed, and 
for the honour which his deed reflected on the whole 
nation of the Geatas (11. 53-2199). 

II. {a) Evidence derived from Scandinavian 
Literature regarding the person of Beowulf. 

The person of Beowulf and the story of his struggle 
with Grendel have usually been taken as possessing a 
purely mythical interest — as, for example, that of the 
culture-hero bringing deliverance to a nation harassed by 



32 THE GEATAS 

the ravages of the North Sea. This so-called myth, it is 
argued or assumed, has been furnished with an historical 
setting and attached to the person of Hygelac, king of 
the Geatas, an historical character who lived aod reigned 
at the beginning of the sixth century. It is, however, 
surely somewhat rash to dismiss the character of Beowulf 
as purely mythical, and in so doing to ignore an important 
fact which has been pointed out by various scholars, namely 
that there is another character within the range of ancient 
Teutonic tradition whose personal traits and the events 
of whose career correspond in a ver}^ striking way to 
those of our hero. 

Our knowledge of the early history of the Scandinavian 
.peoples rests in large measure upon the materials to which 
we have access in the great wealth of saga and folk-tale 
of Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic literature ; we are 
indebted to a slightly less extent to Saxo Grammaticus 
and other early Danish historians, w^ho, in addition to 
sagas of a somewhat earlier date but of similar character 
to those which we possess, were also able to draw from 
certain old Danish traditions which have not been other- 
wise preserved ; but the evidence furnished by these 
authorities although of great value must be carefully 
tested, as the liberties w^hich the writers have taken with 
their materials, in many cases, detract considerably from 
the value of their work. 

In our poem, the scene of Beowulf's exploits is laid at 
the court of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, who is repre- 
sented as the ideal monarch — "wise, brave, gentle, and 
generous. All Scandinavian sources agree as to the 
existence of a Danish prince, Ro or Hroar (Hrothgar), 
the son of Halfdan (Healfdene) and the brother of Helgi 



THE GEATAS 33 

(Halga). Bat Ro is a very shadowy character : he has 
none of those characteristics which mark a man out as a 
leader among his fellows. The figure of his nephew, 
Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf in Beowulf), the hero of Scandi- 
navian song and story, corresponds much more closely to 
that of Hrothgar in Beowulf. King Hrolf Kraki was the 
national hero, the king admired, beloved, and feared by all. 

Amongst the many stories and traditions which centre 
round Hrolf Kraki, our attention is arrested by one con- 
cerning a certain B^dvar-Bjarki, a warrior in Hrolfs 
service, on account of its remarkable resemblance to the 
story of the life and exploits of Beowulf; this story is 
most fully contained in the Icelandic Hrolfssaga Kraka. 

According to Hrss. (Chs. 24-86) Bgdvar was the son 
of Bjgrn, the son by a first marriage of Hring, a king of 
the Norwegian Uplands. Bjgrn's mother died, and Hring 
took as his second wife Hvit, the daughter of the king of 
the Finns. 

On one occasion when King Hring was away, Hvit 
made professions of love to Bjgrn, but because he would 
not fall in with her wishes, she, through her magic powers*, 
turned him into a bear, and laid on him a curse that he 
should ever be forced to prey upon his father's cattle. 
When Hring returned home, his son had disappeared, but 
on all sides he was met with reports of a devastating bear 
which worked havoc on his flocks. 

Now Bjgrn had before loved a peasant maiden named 
Bera; Bera recognised the eyes of the bear as those of her 

* "Throughout O.N. literature as well as in Saxo, Olavus Magnus, 
and others, the Finns are held in high repute as magicians"; cf. Hand- 
books on the History of Keligions— T/ig Religion of the Teutons, by 
de la Saussaye, p. 95. 

c. 3 



34 THE GEATAS 

lover, Bjgrn, and she followed him to his cave, where every 
night he was able to lay aside his bear's mask, and become 
a man until the morning. For some time, Bera and Bjgrn 
thus spent every night together, until eventually, the bear 
was killed by the King's men. After his death Bera bore 
three sons — Elgfr6di, who was half a man and half an 
elk ; Thorirhundsf(5t, who was a man except for his dog's 
feet, and Bgdvar. (Bgdvar appears occasionally in Hrolfss. 
as Bgdvar-Bjarki.) It is with the last alone that we are 
here concerned. 

When Bgdvar grew up, he avenged his father by 
killing the queen Hvit. Soon after this King Hriog died, 
and Bgdyar ruled the kingdom for a short time. He 
then started on his travels and first sought out his brothers, 
Elgfrodi and Thorir. With the latter, who had become 
king of Gautland, he remained some time, but finally left 
him in order to join the service of Hrolf Kraki*. 

On his way to Hrolf s court at Hleidrgardr (Leire), 
Bgdvar came to the house of some people who were in 
great trouble on account of their son Hgtt; this Hgtt 
was in Hrolf 's service, but as he was somewhat of a weak- 
ling, the king's men took advantage of this, and tormented 
him by throwing bones at him. Bgdvar promised to do 
what he could to help Hgtt, and on his arrival at Hleidr- 
gardr, he found the unfortunate man in the corner of the 
hall entirely hidden by a heap of bones. He succeeded in 
rescuing him from this plight, but when the king's men 

* In ancient times, the determining factor in the choice of an over- 
lord or warrior entering upon military service appears to have been not 
patriotism, but the personal qualities of individual leaders, e.g. Weohstan 
was in the service of Onela, king of Sweden, while his son Wiglaf served 
under Beowulf, king of Geatland. 



THE GEATAS 35 

saw it, they attacked both of them, and again with bones : 
Hgtt was so frightened that he could do nothing, but 
Bgdvar retorted, killing some of the assailants by one or 
two well-aimed shots, and the strife was soon at an end. 
Hrolf Kraki, learning of the incident, commended B^dvar's 
bravery, and took him into his service. Bgdvar took 
Hgtt henceforth under his own protection. 

With the approach of Christmas, gloom and sadness 
became visible on the faces of Hrolf s warriors. Bodvar, 
enquiring the cause of the depression, was told by Hgtt 
that for the last two years, at the same season, a great 
winged beast {dyr) had appeared in the land, working 
great havoc and causing much loss of life; weapons 
availed naught against it. Bgdvar expressed wonder 
that in the domain of such a king as Hrolf Kraki a thing 
like this could come to pass, but Hgtt explained to him 
that the creature was a troll rather than an animal, and 
that more than ordinary bravery was necessary in order 
to vanquish it. 

When Christmas Eve came, the king gave orders for 
silence in the hall and forbade any of his warriors to 
attack the monster when it appeared. Bgdvar, however, 
determined to be beforehand, and went outside to await 
its coming, with Hgtt, who was in such a state of terror 
that Bgdvar had to carry him. When the troll appeared, 
Hgtt screamed; Bgdvar dropped him and attacked the 
beast, killing it by a sword-thrust through the belly. He 
then made Hgtt eat of its heart and drink of its blood, 
saying that he would thereby become strong and fearless. 
Together they propped up the monster as though it were 
still alive, and stole back to the hall, where their absence 
had not been noticed. 

3—2 



36 THE GEATAS 

In the morning, the king asked if anything had been 
seen of the animal : he sent out messengers who returned 
saying that it was outside the hall. Thereupon Hgtt, 
encouraged by Bgdvar, offered to go out and slay it with 
the sword of Gullinhjalti, which he asked for this purpose 
from the king. This request was somewhat reluctantly 
granted, as Hrolf was well acquainted with Hgtt's repu- 
tation for cowardice. 

Armed with Gullinhjalti, Hgtt sallied forth and attacked 
the monster, which at once fell dead from the blow ! The 
king congratulated Bgdvar on all that he had done for 
his protege, and decreed that Hgtt should henceforth be 
called Hjalti, after the sword with which he had performed 
his exploit. 

After these events, Bgdvar remained in the service of 
Hrolf Kraki : he took part in many expeditions with the 
king, married his daughter, and finally fell in battle while 
fighting at his side (cf. irif. p. 49 f.) (Chs. 47-52.) 

Even the casual observer cannot fail to note the strikinof 
similarity between the account of the exploits of Beowulf 
at the court of Hrothgar, and those of Bgdvar at the 
court of Hrolf Kraki. In either case a warrior arrives at 
the court of a Danish king, and earns the lasting gratitude 
of the king by slaying a monster which has been the 
scourge of the country. 

Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish historian of the 
twelfth century, relates a story (Bk II, pp. 56-68, ed. 
Holder) concerning one Biarco a warrior of Rolvo "Krake": 
this Biarco clearly corresponds to the Bgdvar-Bjarki of 
Hrolfss. as, in addition to the evidence of the name Biarco, 
which is obviously a Latinised form of " bjarki," the two 
accounts are practically identical. 



THE GEATAS 37 

According to Saxo (il, 56, ed. Holder), as in Hrolfss., 
Biarco and Hjalti were companions in arms : the monster 
which devastated the country each Yule-tide has been 
replaced by a huge bear, which Biarco slays in the forest, 
but Saxo does not lay nearly so much stress on the inci- 
dent as does the writer of the Hrolfss. On the other 
hand, the story of E-olvo Krake's last battle, and the part 
played in it by Biarco and Hjalti, is treated in greater 
detail than in Hrolfss. (ii, pp. 58-68, ed. Holder). Both 
accounts are based on the O.N. Bjarkamdl, but while 
Saxo's version is apparently a complete translation of the 
poem, that of Hrolfss. is very corrupt. 

Although strictly speaking outside the scope of this 
treatise, we may notice the striking parallel to the story 
of Beowulf and Grendel with which we are confronted in 
the Icelandic Grettissaga (chs. 64-67). 

The Grettissaga dates from about the end of the 
thirteenth century, and deals with the adventures of 
an outlaw Grettir, who was an historical character, and 
who died about the year 1031. The story of Grettir's 
encounter with two water-demons corresponds so remark- 
ably to the account of Beowulf's fight with Grendel and 
his mother that it is impossible to look upon the resem- 
blance between the two as merely accidental. The 
Grettissaga contains no sign of having been influenced 
by the Beowulf, and it is in itself almost inconceivable 
that the O.E, poem should have exercised any such direct 
influence as would be necessary to account for the simi- 
larity of the two narratives. It has been suggested by 
Mr H. M. Chadwick (Cambridge Hist, of Eng. Lit. vol. i, 
p. 27) that there may have existed some old folk-tale of 
a fight with water-demons on which the portions of the 



38 THE GEATAS 

Beowulf and of Grettissaga in question may both have 
been based, the adventure being in the one case attributed 
to an historical prince of the Gotar — Beowulf — and in the 
other to an historical Icelandic outlaw — Grettir. This 
explanation certainly seems more satisfactory than any 
other, and, if it were proved correct, would remove one 
of the chief difficulties at present brought forward against 
regarding Beowulf as an historical character, namely, the 
alleged mythical nature of his contest with Grendel and 
Grendel's mother. 

For a fuller treatment of this subject, the reader is referred to 
an article by Hugo Gering entitled "Der Beowulf und die islandische 
Grettissaga," which is to be found in Anglia iii, pp. 74 fif. Bugge 
{PBB. XII, pp. 57 ff.) has pointed out that the saga of Orm 
Stdrolfsson has, like the Orettiss.^ marked affinity with the account 
of Beowulf's struggle with Grendel and that reminiscences of the 
same legend of a life and death struggle with a monster are also 
contained in several Faroese and Swedish ballads. 

The question of the apparent confusion between the Hrothgar 
(Ro Hroar) of Beowulf, and the Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf) of Northern 
tradition, will be discussed in the following chapter on Danish tradi- 
tions. A further account of the Hall Heorot, the palace of King 
Hrothgar, and the scene of Beowulf's struggle with Grendel, is also 
reserved for the next chapter. 

h. Evidence derived from Scandinavian 
Literature regarding the Geatas. 

We are now in a position to consider the actual 
identity of the people who are called in Beowulf the 
Geatas; regarding this question, controversy has been 
rife. Some scholars (Bugge) would identify the Geatas 
with the O.N. Jdtar — Jutes, who inhabited Jutland. 
The other and more generally accepted theory (MUllenhoff) 



THE GEATAS 39 

is that the Geatas represent the O.N. Gautar (which is 
quite a different word from O.N. Jotar), and, therefore, 
correspond to the modern Gotar who occupy the southern 
part of Sweden (with the exception of the southern ex- 
tremity Skaane which was formerly Danish). In Heimshr. 
St Olafss. ch. 76, there is given a geographical descrip- 
tion of the divisions of Sweden, which are arranged 
thus : 

1. Swithjdd, with its provinces. 

2. Vestrgautland. Vermaland. Markir. 

3. Eystrgautland, with Gottland, and Eyland. 

The chief reasons for identifying the Geatas with the 
modern Gotar are these : 

1. As regards phonology Geatas corresponds exactly 
to O.N. Gautar, whereas it does not correspond to O.N. 
J6tar, in which jo represents an earlier eu *. 

2. What is said regarding the relations between the 
Geatas and the Svear (Swedes) in Beowulf indicates that 
the lands respectively occupied by the two peoples lay in 
close proximity to one another. Hostilities were con- 
stantly going on between Geatas and Svear ; e.g. there 
was the campaign of Haethcyn and Onela (Beo. 11. 
2472 ff. 2922 ff.), and again, when Eadgils undertook an 
expedition agaiust Onela, he was assisted by Beowulf and 
an army of the Geatas, the combined forces eventually 
defeating Onela, who fell in the battle, and was succeeded 
by Eadgils (Beo. 11. 2391 ff.). It is most unlikely that 
such close relations should have existed between Swedes 
and Geatas, had they not been near neighbours as the 
Svear and Gautar were : we know, too, that there was 

* Cf. also p. 183. 



40 THE GEATAS 

constant friction between the.Svear aad Gautar through- 
out the Middle Ages, although by that time both peoples 
were nominally united under a common ruler. 

3. In the Skdldsk. (ch. 44) Bgdvar who, according to 
Hrss., came from Gautland, is found in alliance with or 
assisting Adils (Eadgils), king of Sweden, in the campaign 
which is, as we shall see, identical with that described 
in Beowulf SiS undertaken by Eadgils and Beowulf, king of 
the Geatas. According to Skdldsk. and Yngls. the battle 
in which Bgdvar assisted Adils took place on Lake Wener, 
which lies between Gotland and Sweden on the one side, 
and Norway on the other. The passage is as follows : 

"Another instance of the bravery of Hrolf Kraki is 
related, that a king ruled over Upsala whose name was 
Adils ; he married Yrsa the mother of Hrolf Kraki. He 
was engaged in war with the king who ruled over Norway 
w^hose name was Ali. They agreed to fight each other on 
the frozen lake Vaenir (" on the ice of the lake which is 
called Vaenir"). King Adils sent word to Hrolf Kraki, 
his kinsman, to come to his assistance, and promised 
payment to all of his army who took part in the expedi- 
tion ; and the king himself should possess three treasures 
which he might choose from Swithjdd. King Hrolf was 
not able to go, because of his strife with the Saxons, but 
he sent to Adils his twelve berserks ; there was Bgdvarr 
Bjarki and Hjalti Hugpriidi, Hvitserkr Hvati, Ygttr 
Veseti, the brothers Svipdagr and Beigadr. In that 
battle King Ali fell, and a great portion of his army." 

It may be objected that the value of this evidence 
is conditional on our acceptance of the characters of 
Beowulf and Bgdvar as identical. This is true, but it is, 
at the same time, also true, that both sets of facts act 



THE GExYTAS 41 

and re-act upon one another to such an extent, that the 
evidence which we have just been discussing is in itself an 
additional and almost a convincing proof of that identity. 

4. The Gautar were as a people much more impor- 
tant than the J(5tar at the time when the events described 
in the poem were gradually becoming crystallised in 
literary form. Procopius mentions the Gautoi as one of 
the most populous races of Northern Europe {vide inf. 
p. 42); and they are certainly the only Northern people 
powerful enough to have fought the Swedes on equal 
terms as the Geatas undoubtedly did. 

The sum total of this evidence seems to show satis- 
factorily and conclusively that the Geatas of Beowulf 
represent the people known in modern times as the Gotar 
(O.N. Gautar) and not the O.N. Jotar, O.F. Jutae — the 
inhabitants of Jutland. The mistake appears to have 
been due in the first instance to a passage in the O.E. 
translation of Bede (Eccles. Hist. I, 15) where the Jutae 
of Bede has, on one occasion, been translated as Geatas. 

The following are the chief classical and Scandinavian 
authorities from which we obtain information about the 
Geatas in early times : 

Ptolemy. Oeographia Clavdii Ptolemaei. Part i. (Miiller, Paris, 

1901.) 
Procopius. 
Jordanes. (J. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus. Ser. i. 

Vol. LXIX.) 
Gregory of Tours. {Recueil des Historiens des Gaules et de la 

France. Vol. i.) Bouquet, 1739. 
Gesta Regum Francorum. Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist. Script. Rer. 

Merov. Vol. i. 
Liher Monstrorura. {Traditions Teratologiques. Berger de Xivrey.) 
Sagas. 



42 the geatas 

Historical References to the Geatas (Gotar) 
IN Foreign Authorities. 

Ptolemy, writing in the second century, mentions the 
Goutai as one of the peoples inhabiting the southern part 
of the island of Scandia*. 

Procopius-f, writing in 550, mentions the Gautoi as the 
chief people inhabiting the island of Thule. 

Jordanes| mentions the Visigauti as a keen, fierce race, 
ready for war. 

In Northern Sagas dealing with the events of the 
fourth and fifth centuries, we find mention of kings of 
the Gautar, but in historical times Gautland (Gotland) 
was no longer an independent kingdom. It was governed 
by an earl and had its own laws, but was subject to the 
kingdom of Sweden of which it formed a part. At the 
time of the events recorded in Beowulf y the Geatas were 
still an independent people, but their kingdom may have 
— and probably did — come to an end comparatively soon 
afterwards. Gregory of Tours (ill, 3) and the Gesta 
Regum Francorum give an account of Hygelac's expedition 
to the Lower Rhine between the years 512 and 520. In 
both records, however, the expedition is described as a 

* dw' dvaToXwv 8e r^s 'Kepaovi^crovs ricraapes ai Kokoifievai ^Kavdiai, 
Tpeh [ikv fjLiKpai wv i] fxiar) iwex^i' fJ-oipas fia X' vr), ywta de /iieyiffTr] Kai 
dvaToXiKUTaTT) Kara rots ^/cjSoXds OutcroiJXa Trora/xov ■^s to fih bvTi.K(irr<xTov 
^TT^X" fJ-olpas JJiy vr} to 5' dvaToXiKWTaTOv /iS" vr) to 5' dpKTtTd)TaTOv fxS X' vrf 
X' t6 de fiearijui.^pivbv jxe v ^yo' . KoXecTai d^ t'Siws /cat avTr) "ZiKavdia Kai kut- 
4xov(rLV avTTJs to. fxkv dpKTiKa KveOuves, tcl Be dvTLKo, XatSeivot, to. 5' dvaroXcKa 
^avdvai Kai ^ipaTaoi, rcl d^ fxearjfx^pivd FovTai Kai AavKiwves, tcl 5e fxeaa 
Aevwpoi. 

t Goth. II, 15. ovTU) fxev GouXirat ^lovatv wv ^dvos ev iroXvdvdpioirov 
61 VavToi ei(jL, Trap' o£)s 5rj 'Epoj^Xajj/ TOTe oi iTrrjX^Tat l8p}j<ravT0. 

X Get. Ill, 22. Post hos Athelnii, Finnaithae feri, Visigautigoth, 
acre hominum genus et ad bellum promptissimum. 



THE GEATAS 43 

Danish one, and Hygelac is spoken of as king of the 
Danes. The passages are as follows : 

Greg. Tur. iii, 3. 

*His ita gestis, Dani cum rege suo, nomine Chlochi- 
laicho, evectu navali per mare Gallias appetnnt. Egressique 
ad terras, pagum unum de regno Theuderici devastant 
atque captivant : oneratisque navibus tam de captivis 
quam de reliquiis spoliis, reverti ad patriam cupiunt. 
Sed rex eorum in litus residebat, donee naves altum mare 
comprehenderent, ipse deinceps secuturus. Quod cum 
Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, quod scilicet regio ejus 
fuerit ab extraneis devastata, Theudebertum filium suum 
in illas partes cum valido exercitu ac magno armorum 
apparatu direxit. Qui, interfecto Rege, hostes navali 
praelio superatos opprimit, omnemque rapinam terrae 
restituit. 

Gesta Regum Francorum, ch. xix. 

fin illo tempore Dani, cum rege suo nomine Chochi- 
lago, cum navale hoste per altum mare Gallices appetunt, 

* After this, the Danes, with their king by name Chlochilaichus, 
took ship and made an attack upon the Gauls by sea. Having dis- 
embarked, they devastated a part of the kingdom of Theuderic, and took 
captives. They then loaded their ships with spoil and prisoners, and 
prepared to return home. But their king remained on shore, until the 
ships had reached the open sea, intending then to follow himself. When 
the news was brought to Theuderic that his land had been laid waste by 
a foreign army he sent his son Theudebert with a strong force and ample 
equipment for war into those regions. He first killed the king, after 
which he defeated the army in a naval battle, afterwards recapturing the 
whole of the booty. 

t About this time the Danes, under their king Chochilagus, crossed 
the ocean with a fleet to attack the Gauls. They laid waste a part of 
the kingdom of Theuderic inhabited by the Attoarii and others, taking 
many prisoners. Having filled their ships with captives they made for 
the ocean, while their king remained on shore. However, when news of 
this was brought to Theuderic, he despatched his son Theudobert with a 



44 THE GEATAS 

Theuderico pagum, Attoarios vel alios devastantes atque 
captivantes, plenas naves de captivis habentes, alto mare 
intrantes Rex eorum ad litus maris resedit. Quod cum 
Theuderico nuntiatum fuisset, Theudobertum filium suum 
cum magno exercitu in illis partibus dirigens. Qui conse- 
quens eos, pugnavit cum eis caede maxima, atque ipsis 
prostratis, Regem eorum interfecit, praedam tulit, et in 
terram suam restituit. 

In addition to these historical references, there is in 
the Liber Monstrorum a collection of mediaeval texts 
edited by Berger de Xivrey, a passage which bears on 
Hygelac of the Geatas. The allusion is as follows : 

*"0f tremendous stature was king Huiglaucus (var. 
lect. Huncglacus) who ruled over the Getae, and was 
slain by the Franks. At the age of twelve years, no 
horse could carry him. His bones rest on an island at 
the mouth of the Rhine, and are shown as a wonder to 
visitors from afar." 

Ill AND IV. Comparison of Evidence, and Summary 
OF Historical Facts underlying the reference 
to the Geatas (Gotar) in Beowulf and Widsith. 

Amongst the references of Latin historians to the 
Gotar, the only two which make definite mention of any 
event connected with this people are the Gesta Francorum 
and Gregory of Tours. 

great army into those regions. The latter pursued them, fought with 
and overcame them with great slaughter, put their king to death, and 
having recovered all the booty departed with it to his own country. 

* Et sunt mirae magnitudinis : ut rex Huiglaucus qui imperavit 
Getis et a Francis occisus est. Quern equus a duodecimo anno portare 
non potuit. Cujus ossa in Eheni fluminis insula, ubi in Oceanum pro- 
rumpit, reservata sunt, et de longinquo venientibus pro miraculo 
ostenduntur. 



THE GEATAS 45 

In both of these sources there is explicit reference to 
a marauding expedition made by a Danish king, Chochi- 
laichns, on the territory of the Franks, between the years 
512 and 520, which terminated in the defeat and slaughter 
of Chochilaichus by a Frankish army under Theoderic and 
Theodobert. This account coincides so exactly with that 
of Hygelac's fatal expedition against the Franks and 
Frisians as related in Beowulf, that they may be taken 
without doubt as referring to one and the same event. 
Scholars have accepted the date given by Gregory of 
Tours and the Gesta Francorum, as a starting-point on 
which to base time calculations with regard to the whole 
subject matter of the poem. 

The results gained from an investigation of the histori- 
cal value of the part played by the Gotar in Beowulf are 
but meagre. They can be expressed in very few words : 
there was in South Sweden at the time of the events 
recorded in Beowulf s. people called the Gautar, who had 
been there, as we learn from Ptolemy, at any rate since 
the second century, and who were a large tribe of consider- 
able importance. At the beginning of the sixth century 
they were ruled by a king named Hygelac*, who was killed 

* The only discrepancy which occurs between the historical references 
to the Gotar, and those contained in Beowulf, is in connection with 
Hygelac. Gregory of Tours refers to Chochilaichus-Hygelac as king of 
the Danes. In the document quoted by Berger de Xivrey, Huiglaucus is 
described as ruling over the Getae (Gotar) ("qui imperavit Getis "), which 
would agree with Beowulf where Hygelac is king of the Geatas. 

We may venture to assume that Gregory of Tours is inaccurate in his 
description as regards this point. There is no reason to suppose that 
the Franks had very minute knowledge of the geography of the Northern 
kingdoms at this time, and as the Danes who were notorious marauders 
lay comparatively near to them, it was natural that they should describe 
other Northern invaders as Danes also. 



46 THE GEATAS 

probably about 520 (cf. note p. 185) by the combined 
forces of Franks and Frisians in a raid which he made on 
their territory. 

It is strange that historical sources should make no 
mention whatever of Beowulf the great warrior of the 
Geatas, whose figure completely overshadows that of 
Hygelac in the poem, and the question arises : what 
grounds have we for believing in Beowulf's actual exist- 
ence as an historical character ? 

All the evidence which we have considered tends to 
establish as fairly certain the identity of the Bgdvar-Bjarki, 
whose name occurs in so many Scandinavian sources, as 
one of the most valiant champions of Hrolf Kraki, with 
the English Beowulf. These two were contemporaries 
and both were famous warriors; both came to the court of 
the Danish king, whom by their prowess they freed from an 
ever-recurring source of danger, thus earning his deepest 
gratitude ; both were involved in the contemporary war 
of succession in Sweden ; both assisted Eadgils-Adils to 
gain the Swedish throne ; lastly, supernatural traits of a 
similar kind appear in the character of each. In view of 
the striking agreement of the facts related of these two 
men, and in the absence of any important negative 
evidence, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that they 
were not two, but indeed one and the same person. 

The belief here expressed in the identity of the O.E. 
Beowulf and the Scandinavian Bgdvar-Bjarki may per- 
haps be considered unjustified, in view of the very different 
attitude adopted with regard to this point by such an 
authority as Dr Axel Olrik in his recent book Danmarks 
Heltedigtning (Copenhagen 1903). Dr Olrik denies most 
emphatically the identity of Beowulf and Bgdvar-Bjarki 



THE GEATAS 47 

on the ground of the different nature of the struggles 
ascribed to the two warriors. Beowulf fights against a 
monster Grendel — neither human being nor animal — 
while Bgdvar-Bjarki simply kills a beast of prey — most 
probably a bear. It is true that in the Icel. Hrolfss. of 
the fourteenth century the bear of Saxo has become a 
winged monster {Fas. I, 69), but this is merely one of the 
many exaggerations and embellishments of the old stories 
which mark the compositions of the period; late Icelandic 
tradition shows everywhere a tendency to degenerate 
into the fantastic. Thus Dr Olrik concludes that the 
two cases are essentially different, and can have nothing 
in common with one another. He even goes the length 
of discrediting the truth of the Scandinavian bear-story, 
which he regards merely as an invention to account for 
the transformation of Hjalti from a coward to a warrior ! 
Surely, however, in consideration of the many other points 
of similarity in the two stories, the minor difficulty of 
identifying the Beowulf, who killed a demon monster, 
with the Bgdvar-Bjarki, who killed a great bear, may be 
overlooked, if it is not altogether removed, by the time 
that we have made allowances for the imaginative treat- 
ment and the liberty of thought and expression, which are 
of the essence of every great poem such as the Beowulf. 
From a devastating beast of prey the transition to a 
monster or even a demon is an easy one, especially if we 
have to take into account in the Beowulf the influence of 
some old folk-tale, as the striking parallel version of a 
fight with water-demons in the Icel. Grettissaga would 
seem to suggest (cf. supra p. 37). 

The acceptance of the identity of Beowulf and Bgdvar- 
Bjarki makes it a degree easier to tackle the question of 



48 THE GEATAS 

the historical validity of this character — Beowalf-Bgdvar 
(as for convenience sake we may style him). The fact 
that English and Scandinavian traditions, which are 
quite distinct, which have developed independently of one 
another, and which belong to altogether different periods, 
both testify to his existence with abundance of circum- 
stantial detail, although not conclusive, certainly goes a 
long way towards proving that he was an actual historical 
character, and not, as has been suggested, a mythical or 
legendary one. It further makes some facts concerning 
him so highl}^ probable as to be almost certain. Beowulf- 
Bgdvar was a warrior of notable strength and valour^ 
and probably belonged to the people of the Gotar* (O.N. 
Gautar, O.E. Geatas) : he was at some time during his 
life, though perhaps only temporarily, a thegn of the 
Danish kings, and apparently rendered them some signal 
service, the exact nature of which cannot be determined. 
Beowulf-Bgdvar took part in the Swedish dynastic struggle 
and assisted Eadgils-Adils to gain the Swedish throne, 
notably in a decisive battle which was fought on the 
frozen Lake Wener. There is also no reason why he 
should not have taken part in the expedition of Hygelac 
(Chochilaicus) to the Lower Rhine, as the Beowulf reports 
him to have done. 

Even apart from the question of his identity with 
Beowulf, Dr Olrik believes firmly in the historical existence 
of Bgdvar-Bjarki ; he bases his conclusions mainly on the 
evidence of Bjarkamdl, in which Bjarki, though serving as 

* Dr Olrik points out {DHD., pp. 215 ff.) that Bgdvar-Bjarki 
appears for the first time as a Norwegian in the Bravallahvad written 
in 1066, and later in the Hrolfss. and Bjarkarimur, where a further 
account of his upbringing has been added. 



THE GEATAS 49 

the personification of a type— that of stern, warlike valour 
in contrast to the mildness and geniality of Hrolf Kraki — 
is, notwithstanding, a purely individual figure ; Bgdvar- 
Bjarki takes part further in the campaigns between the 
Danes and Heathobeardan, which we have reason to 
regard as historical, and the names with which he is asso- 
ciated go back to old tradition, and, therefore, presumably 
to historical characters and events (I). H, D. p. Q6), 

An objection has been raised that the figure of Beo- 
wulf in the poem is not that of a normal human being, 
and that the elements of the supernatural which appear 
in his character are incompatible with its historical truth. 
But this objection can easily be met on the ground that 
amongst primitive peoples there was no clear line of 
division between the natural and the supernatural ; as a 
matter of fact, the figures of almost all early heroes unite 
elements of both, as for example, Dietrich of Bern, in 
whose case mediaeval German tradition has interwoven 
history and m}?th in the most extraordinary way. 

An examination of the Scandinavian authorities will 
help to make clear the significance of the supernatural 
traits in the character of Beowulf-Bgdvar. 

As we have seen, Bgdvar was, according to Hrolfss., 
the son of Bjorn, who was turned into a bear, and of Bera 
(O.N. bera — she-bear). When Bgdvar first came to 
Hrolf s court, he earned his reputation by slaying a great 
troll, which came every Yule-tide and carried off warriors^ 
doing great havoc throughout the country (cf. sup. p. 35). 

In Saxo, Biarco (Beowulf-Bgdvar) first became 
famous through slaying a bear. In the last great battle 
in which Hrolf Kraki was defeated and slain, Biarco had 
to be roused three times before he came out to the fight 

c. 4 



50 THE GEATAS 

(Saxo, ed. Holder, pp. 59 ff.). Saxo makes no comment 
on this curious fact, but some light is thrown on it by the 
parallel account in the Hrss. 

In Hrolfs last fight, as in Saxo, so too in the saga, 
Bgdvar at first did not come out to fight : but a huge bear 
fought in front of Hrolf, and killed as many of the enemy 
as any five of his warriors. When Bgdvar was at last roused 
and came out, the bear disappeared {Fas. I, pp. 102 ff.). 

From this tradition it appears that the conception of 
Bgdvar in the minds of the people was so intimately 
associated with the figure of a bear, that finally the one 
came to be regarded as the metamorphosis of the other. 

In the O.E. Beowulf this same metamorphosis may 
be traced, although its existence is nowhere explicitly 
stated. Beowulf generally fought in the dark, or where 
no man could see him, and he very seldom fought with 
weapons. Cf. the whole passage on the killing of Grendel, 
11. 745-818, especially such expressions as : 

I. 764. Wiste his fingra ge weald on grames gr^pum*. 

II. 788—90. Heold hine to faeste 

se the manna waes maegene strengest 
on thaem daege thysses llfest. 

I. 813 f. Ac hme se modega maeg Hygelaces 

haefde he honda%. 

II. 963 — 6. "Ichine hraedltce heardan clammum 

on wael bedde wrUhan thdhte. 

thaet he for mund-gripe mlnum scolde 

licgean Itf-bysig, btitan his Itc swice§." 

* He knew that the power of his fingers was in the grip of the enemy. 

t He, who was of men the mightiest in strength, in the day of this 
life, held him too fast. 

X But the bold kinsman of Hygelac had him by the hands. 

§ " Quickly I thought to pin him down on the bed of slaughter with 
hard grip, that he should lie struggling for life, by reason of my hand- 
clasp, unless his body escape." 



THE GEATAS 51 

and again such passages as these : 

11. 2506 — 8. Ne waes ecg bona 

ac him hilde-grdp heortan wylmas 
hdn-hUs gebraec*. 

11. 2682 — 4. Him thaet gifethe ne waes 

thaet him Irenna ecge mihton 
helpan aet hilde ; waes sio hond to strong 
se the m^ca gehwane mine gefraege 
swenge ofersohtet. 

These passages, with others which might be quoted, 
seem to show plainly that Beowulf fought like a wild 
animal, not killing his enemies by sword and spear, but 
squeezing them in a fierce embrace — thus more like a 
bear than any other animalj. 

This exactly corresponds to the figure of Bgdvar in 
Hrolfss. Thus the entering in of the spirit of Beowulf- 
Bgdvar into a bear in times of battle seems to be an 
essential part of the legend concerning him, occurring in 
ail its versions, and we have here an instance of metamor- 
phosis, the idea of which was not only possible, but common 
amongst early Teutonic peoples. Beowulf-Bgdvar was 

* Nor was the sword the slayer, but the battle-grip crushed his 
*' bone-house" (i.e. body), the surgings of his heart. 

t That was not granted him, that iron blades might help him in 
battle : too strong was the hand which, as I have heard, surpassed every 
sword in its stroke. 

X It is true that Beowulf did, on two occasions, fight with a sword, 
viz., against Grendel's mother, and in his last fight against the dragon. 
But this second struggle may be, as is thought by many writers, a later 
addition made by the poet to the original story of Beowulf, When 
Beowulf attacked Grendel's mother, the main part of the combat con- 
sisted of a deadly wrestling-match, which is quite consistent with what 
we know of his methods of fighting at other times : it was only as a last 
resource that he used a sword, and that not his own, but an old one 
which he found hanging on the wall of the den. 

4—2 



52 THE GEATAS 

the bear, and the bear was a metamorphosis of him. The . 
force of this is brought out by the name Bgdvar-Bjarki, 
by which Bgctvar is usually known in Scandinavian 
tradition ; indeed, in earliest Scandinavian tradition, pre- 
served in Saxo's Latin version of the Icel. Bjarkamdl, he 
appears merely as Bjarki, and this, according to Dr Olrik, 
was probably originally his real name*. Thus the fact that 
supernatural elements are traceable in the character of 
Beowulf is no argument against his historical existence. 
Dr Olrik believes that the bear-like qualities or the "bear- 
nature" was first attributed to BgSvar-Bjarki in the 
twelfth century, owing to the influence of a similar story 
told of Siward the Fat, a Danish earl who settled in 
Northumbria in the time of Canute (1017-1042). He 
asserts that in the case of Siward we have the story of a 
man appearing in the shape of a bear for the first time. 
(Z). H. D. pp. 215 ff.) But this belief in the possibility of 
the metamorphosis of men and animals is an ancient one^ 
and dates as we have seen from very much earlier than 
the eleventh century : in the particular instance of Bgd- 
var-Bjarki there is no proof — nor on the surface at any 
rate does there seem any probability — that the story owes 
anything to the similar one told of Siward the Fat. 

* Bjarki is merely a hypocoristic formed from &7orw = bear. It was 
well known as a personal name, and is also found in Danish place- 
names from early times. The name BQdvar is apparently derived from 
6o^= battle (perhaps the genitive) and was most probably given to Bjarki 
on account of his prowess. Dr Olrik supposes B^dvar to have been at 
first merely an epithet, namely, bodvar Bjarki = 'Bjsirki of the battle, or, 
freely translated, "Fighting Bjarki," which in later records was mis- 
understood and reproduced as BQdvar bjarki, where Bgdvar has become 
the real name, and "bjarki" is now merely an epithet or surname 
(cf. D. H. D. p. 139 f.). An alternative explanation of Bgdvar is that 
it = O.E. beaduhere, i.e. battle-army. 



THE GEATAS 53 

There is, however, a serious difficulty with regard to 
the later history of Beowulf-Bgdvar : Beowulf became 
king of the Geatas, and had a long and glorious reign, 
whereas Bgdvar-Bjarki remained in the service of Hrolf 
Kraki until the end of his life, fell with him in battle 
and was buried in the same barrow. But Beowulf, as 
king of the Geatas, is a very shadowy character, as 
we have already seen ; he is much more a type than an 
individual ; even the killing of the dragon whereby he 
met his own death is a thoroughly typical exploit of the 
ideal king — cf. Sigmund in Beowulf (11. 884-900), Sigurd 
in VqIss. (Ch. xviii), Frotho I in Saxo (ed. Holder, 
p. 38 f.) — and may well be a later accretion to the original 
story. This supposition is rendered more probable by the 
consideration that the reign of fifty years attributed to 
Beowulf would bring us up to near the end of the sixth 
century, and we have no evidence for believing that 
communication was maintained between England and 
northern countries as late as that time. 

But even if we reject the story of Beowulf's fifty-year 
reign as given by the poet, it still seems probable that 
there was some foundation for representing him as ruling 
over the Gautar at some period following on Heardred's 
death. 

The most probable theory seems to be that Beowulf- 
Bgdvar ruled over the Gautar as a vassal or tributary 
king of Hrolf Kraki, and as such assisted Eadgils-Adils 
in his struggle to obtain the Swedish throne. We have 
already accepted as historical the fact that he did take 
part in this stiTiggle, and according to the Beowulf he did 
so as an independent sovereign. But we have seen that 
the evidence of the poem with regard to Beow^ulfs reign 



54 THE GEATAS 

is probably untrustworthy; on the other hand, all Scandi- 
navian sources represent Bgdvar as a vassal of Hrolf 
Kraki, and according to Skdldsk. (Ch. 44), it was in this 
capacity, and at the command of Hrolf, that he and others 
went to the assistance of Adils. 

There are various further indications that the kingdom 
of Sweden (i.e. Svealand) was at this time subject to 
Denmark, and that the king of Sweden paid tribute to 
the king of the Danes. These will be dealt with when 
we come to speak of the relations between Actils and 
Hrolf Kraki (cf. also Yngls. Ch. 31), but the matter may 
be referred to at this point, as it gives evidence of the 
widespread power of the Danish kings, and also because 
the fact that Svealand was under the sway of Denmark 
would increase the probability of the sister kingdom of 
Gotland being in a similar position. Regarding the end 
of Beowulf's life, as English and Scandinavian traditions 
disagree, we have no certain ground to go upon. But the 
account of Beowulf's death in the Beowulf stands or falls 
with that of his fifty-years' reign over the Geatas ; if we 
reject this story, there seems no reason why we should 
hesitate to accept the account given in Scandinavian 
authorities, viz., that Beowulf-Bgctvar met his death in 
battle with Hrolf Kraki in the manner described by Saxo 
(pp. 57 ff.) and Hrss. (Fas, Vol. i, pp. 96 ff.)* 

The question of the presence of mythical features in 
the Beowulf is, strictly speaking, beyond the scope of 
this study, but it is one which is so intimately bound 
up with the whole interpretation of the story of 
Beowulf and Grendel that a few words must be said 
about it. 

* But cf. Ch. HI, p. 153 f. 



THE GEATAS 55 

From the evidence which we have considered, we 
believe Beowulf to have been an historical character, who 
corresponds to the character of Bg^var-Bjarki in Scandi- 
navian tradition, and who performed some exploit at the 
court of a Danish king through which he acquired great 
fame. The constant association of Bgdvar-Bjarki with a 
bear, as also the name itself, would seem to indicate that 
it was from the ravages of some unusually fierce bear that 
he delivered the Danish court. 

If this be true, the theory that the interest of the 
Grendel story is purel}^ mythical must necessarily fall to 
the ground ; for while an historical narrative may easily 
develop some mythical traits, it cannot, as such, contain a 
fully-developed myth, except where the lapse of centuries 
has caused the historical interest, which attaches to 
persons, time and place, to become merged with, and lost 
in, the more general interest of the myth. In the case of 
the Grendel-story there was not time for this to take 
place, as the poem must have been composed compara- 
tively soon — probably within two or three generations — 
after the events recorded in it took place, at any rate long 
before they could have lost their historical significance in 
order to become merely the vehicle of a myth. 

The most we can say about this story is, that there 
are possibly some mythical features in the description of 
Grendel (cf. suggestion made on p. 37), who differs con- 
siderably from the bear, which we believe to have been 
the corresponding figure of the original story. Beowulf 
no longer fights against an animal, but against some 
monstrous being, more man than beast, whose outstanding 
feature is the malignance of his personality. This Grendel 
lurked in the fens and marshland surrounding Heorot 



56 THE GEATAS 

which were evidently uninhabitable by any other creature, 
for in every reference to him stress is laid on his solitary 
existence, and the curse which his presence always carried 
with it; cf. Beo. 11. 102-6, 1. 160, deorc dedth-scda, 
1. 165, atol dn-gengea, 1. 712, mdn-scatha. A further 
significant feature of the story is that Grendel's ravages 
only took place when court was being held at Heorot, and 
the great hall itself was actually in use. At other times, 
the monster does not appear to have left his home in the 
marshes. 

It is possible that in this one instance the poet may 
have read into his very much elaborated description of 
the creature slain by Beowulf more than the actual facts 
^varranted, in short that he may have taken this opportu- 
nity of representing in mythical form the encroachments 
of the sea on the low-lying fenland, or the ravages of the 
agues and fevers which lurked in the miasmic swamps of 
Zealand (cf. suggestion on p. 38). 

Further than this it is, however, impossible to go, and 
even this is merely surmise, as the whole description of 
Grendel in Beowulf may merely be due to poetical 
exaggeration. In any case, the idea that Beowulf him- 
self could have been conceived by the poet as a myth 
seems extremely improbable. In the first place the 
Beowulf, as already mentioned, appears to have been 
composed within about a century after Beowulf's death, 
when the memory of his personality and of his deeds 
must still have been fully alive in men's minds; and 
further, if the figure of Beowulf has mythical significance, 
it can only be that of representing in a general way the 
progress of civilisation and of the arts — for no one will, 
surely, attempt to prove that his victory over Grendel 



THE GEATAS 57 

represents anything so concrete as the invention of a new 
system of sanitation or the building of a dyke, by one 
single man. It seems quite possible that the pictorial 
imagination of early peoples was sufficient to conceive 
of the ravages of sea or disease as those of some fierce 
monster ; but there are no grounds for believing — nor is 
it in itself at all probable — that these same peoples were 
capable of rising to such heights of abstract thought as 
the general conception of a culture-hero would imply. 



CHAPTER II 

THE DANES. 
I. The Danes in Beowulf. 

The Danish royal family is traced in Beowulf from 
its first founder, Scyld Scefing, whose mythical coming 
and departure are described (11. 1-52). Scyld was suc- 
ceeded, as king of Denmark, by his son Beowulf the Dane, 
who in his turn was followed by his son Healfdene (11. 56- 
57). Healfdene had three sons, Heorogar, Hrothgar, 
Halga, and one daughter, who apparently became the 
wife of Onela of Sweden (1. 62), although the text of the 
poem is unfortunately corrupt at this point. Heorogar 
died youngs but he may have reigned for a short time 
(cf. 1. 2158 f.) ; the story of his early death was told by 
King Hrothgar to Beowulf on his arrival at the Danish 
court (11. 467 ff.). 

Hrothgar reigned in Heorot, the beloved and venerated 
king of the Danes, but owing to Grendel's ravages gloom 
hung over his court for many years, until, through Beo- 
wulf's victory, joy was restored in Heorot. Hrothgar's 
wife was Wealhtheow of the Helmingas (11. 612 f ) ; he 
had by her two sons, Hrethric and Hrothmund (1. 1189), 
and a daughter Freawaru (11. 2020 fif.). He had also a 
nephew Hrothulf (11. 1017, 1163 f.), who was held in high 
favour at his uncle's court ; Wealhtheow showed great 



THE DANES 



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60 THE DANES 

confidence in Hrothulf, and said that he would make a 
good guardian for her sons in the event of Hrothgar's 
death (11. 1180 fF.). The poem hints surprise (cf. also 
Widsith, 11. 45-49) that such friendly relations should 
have existed between Hrothgar and Hrothulf (1. 1164). 

The subsequent history of Freawaru, Hrothgar's 
daughter, introduces a new set of characters. Froda, 
the king of the Heathobeardan, had fallen in battle 
against the Danes. The strife was ended by the promise 
of Freawaru in marriage to Freda's son Ingeld. Hrothgar 
was glad to settle the dispute in this w^ay, but the 
marriage ended unhappily. Freawaru took with her as 
esquire a young Dane, who boasted to the Heathobeardan 
of Freda's defeat, and Ingeld, at last roused from apathy 
by the repeated admonitions of an old warrior, took 
terrible vengeance on the Danes for his father's death 
(11. 2022-2069). 

The Danes in Widsith. 

The allusions made to the Danes in Widsith consist 
merely of isolated references. 

Lines 45-49. " Hrothwulf and Hrothgar, the nephew 
and uncle, maintained their friendship for a very long 
time, after they had expelled the ' Wicinga cyn ' and 
brought Ingeld's spear low, cutting down at Heorot the 
host of the Heathobeardan*." 

Line 58. The singer also visited the South Danes. 

* Hrothwulf and; Hrothgar heoldon lengest 
sibbe aetsomne suhtorfaedran 
siththan hie forwraecon Wicinga cynn 
and Ingeldes ord forbigdan 
forheowan aet Heorote Heatho-Beardna thrym. 



THE DANES Gi- 

ll. Other References to the Danes. 

The chief authorities which contain evidence about 
the Danes in general, and about the period of their 
history in particular with which the Beowulf deals, are 
the following: 

Historians and Records. 
Tacitus. 

Saxo Grammaticus' Danish History. 
Sven Aagesen (genealogies) (Langebek, 8. R. B, 

Vol. I, pp. 42-64). 
Jordanes (Migne, Patrologia^ Vol. I, p. 69). 
Procopius. 
Gregory of Tours (Pertz, Mon. Germ. Hist. Script. 

Rer. Meroving. Vol. i). 
Venantius Fortunatus (Pertz, Mon. Germ. Auct 

Antiquiss. Vol. iv). 
Chronicle of King Eric (Langebek, 8. R. D. Vol. I, 

pp. 148-170). 
Peter Olavus {S. R. D. Vol. ii, pp. 68-148). 
Landndmahok. 
William of Malmesbury, ed. W. Stubbs. Gesta 

Regum Anglorum, Bk. ii, p. 121. Rolls Series, 

No. 90. 
Aethelweard (Sir Henry Savile. Rerum Anglicarum 

Scriptores). 

Scandinavian Sagas, &c. 

Hrolfssagakraka (Fas. i). 

Ynglingasaga (Hskr.). 

Skdldskapermdl (Sn. Edd.). 

Arngrim Jonsson's Epitome of Skjgldungasaga 

{Aarh. f. n. Oldkynd. 1894). 
5;arA;aH??i'iir,ed.Finnur Jonsson. Copenhagen, 1904. 
Flateyjarhok. 



62 the danes 

Historical References to the Danes. 

We do not find the Danes mentioned by name earlier 
than in works of the sixth century. 

Tacitus, Germania, Ch. 40, mentions a confederation 
of tribes who worshipped the Goddess Nerthus on an 
island in the ocean, the most probable identification of 
which is Zealand, but the name Dane does not occur*. 

Jordanes, Ch. Ill, refers to the Danes, but the passage 
is obscure and corrupt. 

The Danes, he says, had dispossessed the Heruli of 
their (the latter's) country, but we do not know where 
the country of the Heruli wasf. 

Procopius (a.d. 513 ?), Goth. Ii, 14, says that the tribe 
of the Heruli on their migration northwards ran past the 
tribes of the DaniJ. 

Gregory of Tours (Hist. Franc, ill, 3), writing late in 
the sixth century, gives an account of the raid of Chochi- 
laichus in which Rex Danorum is used wrongly. But the 
reference shows that the name of the Danes was known 
at that time. 

Yenantius Fortunatus (vii, 7, 50 and ix, 1, 73)§, 

* Tacitus, Germania, Ch. 40: "Eeudigni deinde et Aviones et Anglii 
et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et Nuithones fluminibus aut silvis 
muniuntur — nee quicquam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune 
Nerthum, id est, Terram matrem colunt, eamque intervenire rebus 
hominum, invehi populis arbitrantur. Est in insula Oceani castum 
nemus dicatumque in eo vehiculum, veste contectum ; attingere uni 
sacerdoti concessum." 

t "Dani Herulos propriis sedibus expulerunt." 

X fxed^ ovs St) Kal Aavdv ra idvrf wapidpa/JLOv. 

§ Venantius Eortunatus, vii, 7, 50 : " Quae tibi sit virtus cum 
prosperitate superna, Saxonis et Dani gens cito victo probat " 

IX, 1, 73 : "Ne ruat armatus per Gallica rura rebellis, nomine victoris 
hie est et ampla tegis ; 



THE DANES 63 

writing about A.D. 580, speaks of Saxons, Danes and 
Jutes as the enemies of the Franks. 

A Danish tradition which is preserved in several 
mediaeval chronicles is that King Dan (the eponymous 
ancestor of the Danes) reigned over Zealand, Moen, 
Falster and Laaland ; this kingdom was called Vihtesleth. 

Peter Olavus, who belongs to the late Middle Ages, 
writes that the Germans attacked the Jutes, who called 
in King Dan to help them ; they afterwards offered Dan 
the kingdom so that he thus acquired Jutland as a 
possession. He also made subject Frisia, Fyn, Scania 
and other Danish islands (S. R. D. Vol. I, p. 68). 

In the Chronicle of King Eric, we are told that Dan 
came from Sweden and ruled over four islands ; he was 
afterwards called in by the Jutes (S. R. D. Vol. I, p. 
148). 

Hrolfssaga Kraka. 

There were two brothers named Halfdan and Fr6di 
who were both kings ; Halfdan had two sons, Hroar and 
Helgi, and a daughter, Signy, who was married to Earl 
Saevil. Fr6di was jealous of his brother, who was king 
of Denmark ; he surprised and killed Halfdan, after which 
he ruled Denmark in his stead. He would also have 
killed Hroar and Helgi, but they were rescued by their 
foster-father Regin, and taken by him for protection to 
the court of Vifill, who had been Halfdan's best friend. 
Frodi, however, traced the boys and followed them to 
their hiding-place, and Vifill only succeeded in saving 

quern Geta, Vasco tremunt, Danus Euthio, Saxo, Britannus, 
cum patre quos acie te domitasse patet." 



64 THE DANES 

their lives by disguising them as his two dogs, Hopp and 
Ho, until the king had gone away again ; but he saw that 
they were no longer safe with him, so Hroar and Helgi, 
now aged twelve and ten respectively, left Vifill and went 
in disguise to the home of their brother-in-law Saevil, 
where they were kindly received. After three years,, 
when accompanying Signy and Saevil on a visit to King 
Fr6cti, they were accidentally recognised by their sister, 
but in spite of all warning and persuasion to turn back, 
they insisted upon completing their journey. Their presence 
was revealed to Frodi by a sibyl, and they were in immi- 
nent danger of their lives, had not the faithful Regin 
helped them a second time to escape. Shortly afterwards, 
with the assistance of Regin and Saevil, the brothers 
succeeded in killing Fr(5di by burning him in his hall. 

Frddi was succeeded as king of Denmark by his 
nephew Helgi, while Hroar went to England, and settled 
with the king of Northumberland, whose daughter Ogn 
he afterwards married. 

King Helgi was a rover, and on one occasion when on 
a sea-raid he sought the hand of Olof, the queen of Sax- 
land, in marriage, but was repulsed with scorn. In revenge 
for the treatment he had received, Helgi returned after 
some time to Saxland, and forced Olof to be his mistress. 
In due time Olof bore a daughter, Yrsa. Some years 
afterwards, while on another raid, Helgi met Yrsa, and 
without recognising her, took her home as his wife ; he 
had by her a son, Hrolf Kraki. Helgi and Yrsa remained 
unconscious of their relationship to one another, until Olof, 
who had known how matters stood from the first, came 
and told him the truth. When Yrsa heard that her 
husband was her own father she went back to Saxland 



THE DANES 65 

with 6lof. There she was wooed by King Adils, whom 
she married and accompanied to Sweden. 

Helgi, in the meantime, having lost his wife, was left 
disconsolate. One night a woman arrived at his house, 
and stayed with him until the morning. This woman was 
an elf. Three years later she sent Helgi a child named 
Skuld, who, she said, was his daughter. Skuld was herself 
half an elf, and grew to be a woman of a very strange 
disposition. She practised magic, and was, later on, the 
means of bringing destruction to many. 

After a time Helgi discovered that Yrsa was living at 
Upsala as the wife of King Adils, and he followed her 
there. Yrsa received her former husband with great joy ; 
but Adils surprised Helgi and treacherously killed him. 

Hrolf Kraki succeeded his father as king ; he built a 
castle, Hleidrgardr (Leire), where he lived surrounded 
by his thanes — kappar and berserkir — and his fame 
soon spread, so that other warriors came from foreign 
courts in order to join his service. (This was apparently 
a very common practice in ancient times, and one which 
lasted indeed into the Middle Ages.) 

Hrolf's sister, Skuld, the elf-maiden, married King 
Higrvard. Hrolf had two daughters, Scur and Drifa, 
the latter of whom was married to his warrior, Bgdvar. 
Some insight into the court-life of Hleidrgardr is given 
in the story of Bgdvar and Hjalti or Hgtt (cf. supra^ 
pp. 34ff.). 

Hrolfss. dwells at length on an expedition made by 
Hrolf to the court of King Adils ; to this Hrolf was 
incited by Bgdvar, who urged him to go and regain his 
father's inheritance — consisting of the money which Helgi 
had had with him when he was killed — which had been 

c. 5 



66 THE DANES 

appropriated by Actils. Hrolf consented to the plan 
somewhat reluctantly, and set out for Sweden with a 
retinue consisting of his twelve chosen warriors (kappar), 
twelve berserks, and a hundred fighting men. 

In the course of their journey the Danes halted at the 
house of a man named Hrani, who, after testing their 
powers of endurance, advised Hrolf to take with him to 
Sweden only his twelve champions (kappar) and to send 
all his other men home again, as they would be of no use 
to him. Hrolf followed this advice ; he despatched his 
whole retinue back to Hleidrgardr, with the exception 
of the twelve champions, in whose company he continued 
his journey. 

Once at Adils' court, Hrolf and his warriors had a 
series of hairbreadth escapes, and finally only succeeded 
in getting away with their lives. 

Adils, who was determined to kill his stepson, tried 
various ruses in order to achieve his purpose. He caused 
warriors to be concealed under the benches where the Danes 
were to sit, but they, fearing treachery, had persuaded 
their master not to reveal himself to Adils ; so this 
scheme failed, as the Swedish soldiers did not know which 
of the strangers was King Hrolf. Adils gave orders for 
a great fire to be kindled in the hall, hoping thus to make 
an end of his enemies ; but the Danes threw their shields 
on the fire, leapt over it, and almost succeeded in killing 
Adils. Queen Yrsa was, however, favourably disposed 
towards her son ; she tended him and his followers hospit- 
ably, and assigned to him as faithful servant a man named 
Yqgg. It was y^gg who first gave Hrolf the name of 
" Kraki," * on account of his lean stature, and who at the 
* Icel. kraki, Dan. krage=]psLle, stake. 



THE DANES 67 

same time promised solemnly to avenge his master, if, 
when Hrolf should be killed, he himself should remain 
alive. y<^gg also warned Hrolf of the danger which threat- 
ened him from Adils. 

Adils made a final attempt against his enemy's life 
by setting fire to the house in which the Danes were, and 
surrounding it with an army. Hrolf and his men succeeded, 
however, in escaping, and having been furnished by Yrsa 
with much treasure — including Adils' prized ring Sviagris 
— and fresh horses, for their own had been maimed by 
the Swedes, they got away as far as Fyrisvellir, but were 
pursued and overtaken there by Adils and an army. The 
Danes flung down the treasure they were carrying, in 
hope of checking the pursuit. But while his soldiers 
grovelled on the earth for the gold, Adils himself pressed 
on, and only when Hrolf threw down the ring Sviagris 
did avarice triumph over hatred ; as he stooped to pick 
up the precious gem, Hrolf lamed him with his sword 
Skgfnung, at the same time revealing his identity to his 
baffled enemy. Adils gave up the chase and returned 
to Upsala, while Hrolf was left in possession of Sviagris ; 
after this the Danes had no difficulty in getting away. 

On the return journey they again fell in with Hrani, 
who offered to give Hrolf a sword, shield and coat of mail. 
Hrolf refused these gifts although warned by Hrani that 
he would suffer for doing so. Only after they had parted, 
and the Danes had gone some way, did they realise that 
the man with whom they had been speaking, and who 
called himself Hrani, was in reality the all-powerful Odin. 
King Hrolf turned back quickly, hoping to make good his 
mistake, but found that both Hrani and his house had 
vanished. Having thus incurred the wrath of the great 

5-2 



68 THE DANES 

God of war, the Danes went home filled with presentiments 
of impending misfortune. 

Their fears were realised, for after an interval of peace, 
a conspiracy was formed against Hrolf by Skuld and her 
husband Higrvard. Higrvard was bound to pay Hrolf a 
yearly tribute, and this vexed the soul of Skuld, who felt 
it as a deep humiliation, and, therefore, incited her husband 
to revolt against Hrolf. The payment of the tribute was 
postponed for three years, at the end of which time Higr- 
vard arrived at Hleidrgarctr with great piles of what 
purported to be tribute-money, but which consisted in 
reality of weapons for his followers. A great battle took 
place in which Hrolf was defeated and his army annihi- 
lated. Higrvard himself was also killed on the same day. 
Skuld took the kingdom and governed very badly for a 
short time. But Vggg (who had taken a vow to avenge 
Hrolf 's death) led against her an army which had been 
gathered by Thorir and Elgfrodi (the brothers of 
Bgdvar) with the assistance of Yrsa. In the battle 
which ensued, Skuld's army was defeated, and she herself 
was killed. 

A barrow was made for Hrolf Kraki, and his sword 
was buried with him. 



Landnamab6k (Twelfth century). 

An entry in the Landndmahok, Ch. 140, relates that 
a pirate merchant, named Midfiardar-Skeggi, who was 
journeying in the Baltic, landed in Zealand and harried 
the barrow of Hrolf Kraki. He seized Hrolf 's sword and 
Hjalte's axe, but was prevented from further plunder by 



THE DANES 69 

the shade of Bgdvar which fell on him and would have 
done him great hurt, but for the intervention of Hrolf 
Kraki *. 

Ynglingasaga. 

Ch. xxv. " Aun or Ani was the name of Jgrund's son, 
who was king of the Swedes after his father : he was a 
wise man and offered many sacrifices : he was not a 
warrior, but stayed at home and ruled his kingdom. 
During the time that these kings reigned at Upsala, of 
whom we have now spoken, there reigned over Denmark, 
first Dan the great Qiinn mikillati) ; he lived to be very 
old : then his son Frodi the great, or the peaceful {hinn 
mikillate eda hinn frithsami) : then his sons Halfdan and 
Fridleif, who were great warriors. Halfdan was the elder 
and took the lead in everything. He went with his army 
to Swidjod against King Aun, and they fought some 
battles, and Halfdan was always victorious. And in the 
end King Aun fled to West Gautland : he had then been 
king of Upsala for twenty-five years. He was also in 
Gautland for twenty-five years, while King Halfdan was 
at Upsala. King Halfdan died of a sickness at Upsala, 
and he is buried there." 

Ch. XXVI. At the beginning of the chapter it is 
related how, after the death of Aun, when Egil his son 
had ascended the throne, Tunni, the former herdsman of 
Aun, formed an insurrection and was successful over Egil 
in several battles. 

* Ldndndmahdk Hauksbdk, c. 140: "hans svn var Midfiardar-Skeggi 
Garpr mikill, hann heriadi i Austrveg ok la i Danmork vid Sioland, hann 
var lutadr til at briota haug Eolfs konungs kraka ok tok hann thar or 
Sk9fnung sverd Rolfs ok exi Hiallta ok mikit fe annat, enn hann nadi ei 
Laufa thvi at Bodvarr villdi at hanum enn Rolfr konung vardi." 



70 THE DANES 

" After that King Egil fled from the land away to 
Sjaelland in Denmark to Frodi the Bold Qiinn fr^kni) ; 
he promised tribute from the Swedes to King Frodi in 
order to obtain his help : thereupon Frodi gave him an 
army and his chosen warriors (kappa). So Egil journeyed 
to Sweden. But when Tunni heard that he went out 
against him with his army. Then there was a great battle, 
in which Tunni fell, so Egil took his kingdom, and the 
Danes w^ent home. King Egil sent King Frodi many 
large and valuable presents every season, but paid no 
tribute to the Danes ; however his friendship with King 
Frodi still continued. After Tunni's fall, King Egil ruled 
over the kingdom for three years." 

Ch. XXVII. " The son of Egil was named Ottar : he 
took the sceptre and the kingdom after his father : he did 
not enter into friendly relations with King Frodi. Then 
King Frodi sent men to King Ottar to demand the 
tribute which Egil had promised him. Ottar answered 
saying that the Swedes had never paid tribute to the 
Danes, nor would he. The ambassadors returned. Frodi 
was a great warrior. During one summer Frodi went 
with his army to Swidjod, made raids, harried, killed 
many, and took some away as prisoners. He took from there 
a great deal of booty : he also burned houses far and wide, 
and did a great deal of damage. Another summer Frodi 
went on a raid to the Baltic : King Ottar heard that King 
Frodi was not at home. So he got into his galley, sailed 
away to Denmark and harried there without encountering 
any resistance. He heard that a host was being gathered in 
Sjaelland, so he sailed westwards to Eyrarsund, then sailed 
south to Jutland, ran into Limfjorth, and harried in 
Vendill, burning and devastating the land. Vgtt and 



THE DANES 71 

Fasti were the names of Frodi's earls, whom he had set 
to protect Denmark during his absence. But when the 
earls heard that the king of the Svear was raiding in 
Denmark they collected an army, took ships and sailed 
south to Limfjorth. There they came upon Ottar quite 
at unawares, and at once engaged him in battle ; the 
Swedes responded manfully and soldiers fell on both sides. 
But as fast as men fell on the Danish side other large 
contingents from the surrounding districts came to take 
their place, and thus all the ships in the neighbourhood 
were engaged in the combat. The end of the battle was, 
that King Ottar fell and the greater part of his army. 
The Danes took his body to land, and laid it on a mound 
and let the beasts and birds devour his flesh. Then they 
made a wooden trunk and sent it to Swidjod, and said 
that their King Ottar was not worth any more than that. 
And after that they called him Ottar the Vendil-crow." 

Ch. XXVIII is included in the discussion of Swedish 
traditions. 

Ch. XXIX contains an account of the relations of Helgi, 
Adils and Yrsa of Saxland, three figures with whom we 
are already familiar. Yngls. differs from all other sources 
in representing Yrsa as the wife of Adils previous to her 
marriage with Helgi. 

Ch. XXIX. "At that time King Helgi the son of 
Halfdan was ruling at Hleidra : he came to Swidjod 
with such a large army that Adils saw no alternative 
but flight. King Helgi landed with his army, harrying 
and taking much booty. He captured Queen Yrsa, and 
took her with him to Hleidra, where he married her : 
their son was Hrolf Kraki. But when Hrolf was three 
years old, Queen Alof came to Denmark : she told Yrsa 



72 THE DANES 

that her husband, King Helgi, was her father, and that 
she was her mother. Then Yrsa went back to Sweden to 
King Adils, and was queen there as long as she lived. 
King Helgi fell while on a raid : Hrolf Kraki was eight 
years old at that time, and was made king at Hleidra. 
King Adils had a great strife with King Ali of Uppland 
{hinn Upplenzhi): he was from Norway. They fought a 
battle on the ice of Lake Wener : King Ali fell there, 
while Adils was victorious. Much is said concerning 
this battle in the Skjgldungasaga, and also concerning 
Hrolf Kraki's coming to Upsala to Adils ; it was then 
Hrolf Kraki sowed gold in Fyrisvellir." 

Ch. XXX. The Fall of Hrolf Kraki. "The son of 
Adils who reigned next over Svealand was called Eystein; 
in his days Hrolf Kraki fell at Hleidra. In these times 
many kings harried in Sweden, both Danes and Northmen. 
There were many sea-kings who had many men but no 
land. He alone was thought to have a right to the name 
of sea-king, who never slept under sooty rafter, and never 
drank at the chimney corner." 

Saxo*. 

(Ed. Holder, pp. 57-68.) Saxo's account of Hrolf Kraki 
(Rolvo Krake) is in its essentials the same as that contained 
in Hrolf ss., although the two vary in some points of detail. 

Saxo differs from most other authorities in what he 
says of Hrolf's predecessors. According to him, Frotho I 
(Frodi) had three sons, Haldanus (Halfdan), Roe and 
Scatus (Skat). Haldanus killed his two brothers and took 

* It is impossible in this section to separate Danes from Swedes, as 
the fortunes of the two peoples were so intimately connected during this 
period. 



THE DANES 73 

the kingdom : he had two sons, Roe (Ro, Hroar) and Helgo 
(Helgi), who reigned jointly in Denmark after their father's 
death. Roe (Ro, Hroar) was the founder of Roeskilde : 
he was killed by the Swedish king, Hothbroddus (Hoth- 
brodd) the son of Regnerus (Ragnar). The sons of Hoth- 
broddus were Athislus (Adils) and Hotherus (Ottar). 

Helgo (Helgi) avenged the death of Roe by killing 
Hothbroddus and putting the Swedes into bondage, and 
from this time onwards he reigned alone in Denmark. 
The relations of Helgo (Helgi) to Ursa (Yrsa) and her 
mother Thora ((3lof) are the same in Saxo as in all other 
records. In later years Helgo became ashamed of the sins 
of his youth, and of the wild life he had formerly led : he 
left his kingdom and went to the East, where he died : it 
was rumoured that in his despair he had committed suicide. 

Helgo was succeeded by his son Rolvo Krake (Hrolf 
Kraki) who, in the words of the historian, " was comely 
with every gift of mind and body, and graced his mighty 
stature with as high a courage *." In the meantime Hoth- 
broddus had been followed on the Swedish throne by 
Athislus (Adils) who contrived to marry Ursa (Yrsa) the 
mother of Rolvo Krake (Hrolf Kraki) in the hope that 
by this stroke of diplomacy he might win his stepson's 
friendship, and thus, ultimately, free Sweden from the 
yoke of Denmark. But Adils was of a miserly disposition, 
and was thoroughly despised by Yrsa, who longed to get 
rid of him. With this end in view, she invited her son Hrolf 
to Sweden, and laid a plot to make her escape with him. 

While Hrolf remained at the court of Adils, appear- 
ances of friendship were carefully kept up between the 
two kings : they vied with one another in giving proofs of 
* Saxo, Books i — ix, trans, by 0. Elton. 



74 THE DANES 

endurance and generosity respectively, and Adils, much 
against his will, was constrained to present Hrolf with a 
beautiful necklace, one of his most prized possessions. On 
the third day after Hrolf 's arrival, he and Yrsa succeeded 
in stealing away with much treasure. They were pursued 
by Adils, and in order to make good their escape, had to 
throw down all that they carried with them. Adils 
grovelled on the earth in order to re-obtain the necklace 
which he had been forced into giving Hrolf, and the fugi- 
tives succeeded in getting away*. 

Various other isolated incidents of Rolvo Krake's reign 
are recorded by Saxo, amongst which may be noted the 
episode of Wiggo (Icel. Vggg) who, on entering Rolvo's 
service, bestowed on him the nickname of " Krake," and 
who, in return for the king's gifts, vowed to avenge his 
death. From this Saxo passes to the last scene of Rolvo's 
career, the attack on Loire made by the treacherous vassal 
Hiartuarius at the instigation of his wife Sculda (Rolvo's 
sister) and Rolvo's subsequent defeat and death. Saxo 
has incorporated in his narrative what is apparently a 
Latin version of the Old Icelandic Bjarkamdl. This poem 
is a dramatic dialogue between Bjarki (Biarco) and his 
companion in arms Hjalti (Hjalto), in which the course of 
the battle is gradually unfolded. 

Skaldskapermal. 

Skdldsk. Ch. XLIII gives the following account of the 
Danish kings : — 

" The son of Odin was named Skjgld, from whom 
sprang the Skjgldungar : he lived in and ruled over the 

* Cf. story of Atalanta in Gk mythology. 



THE DANES 75 

land which is now called Denmark, but which was then 
called Gotland. Then Skjgld had a son named Fridleif 
who ruled over the land after him. The son of Frictleif 
was named Frodi, he took the kingdom after his father ; 
at this time Augustus Caesar ruled over the Roman 
Empire, and brought about a universal peace : then 
Christ was born. But because Frodi was the most 
powerful of all the kings in Scandinavian lands, therefore 
the peace was ascribed to him in all Danish-speaking 
countries, and the northmen call it the peace of Frocti 
(Froda-frict)." 

Skdldskapermdl goes on to tell how Frodi bought 
from the Swedish king two giant handmaidens Fenja and 
Menja to grind a huge wishing mill which he possessed. 
He made them grind him out gold and prosperity without 
ceasing : but, because he gave them no rest, they cursed 
him by causing the mill to grind out destruction instead 
of prosperity. As Fenja and Menja turned the mill, they 
sang the Grottasgng, in which these words occur, " the 
son of Yrsa will avenge the death of Halfdan on Frodi*." 
In so far, this agrees with Hrolfss., which also represents 
Frodi as killing Halfdan. But Frid-Frodi was, accord- 
ing to Skdldsk., a contemporary of Augustus Caesar, and 
his name occurs very high in the genealogies, while 
Halfdan, the father of Hroar, belongs to the fifth century ! 
The various Frodis have been confused with each other 
throughout Scandinavian tradition; we shall have to 

* This seems tlie most probable reading of the words : 

" Mun Yrsa sonr 
vi3 Halfdani 
hefna Frotha." 
Some scholars read " vigs " for " vid." 



76 THE DANES 

attempt later on the difficult, if not impossible, task 
of disentangling their respective identities (cf. inf, pp, 
114 ff.). 

Ch. XLIV, XLV. Skdldsk. relates the story of Hrolf 
Kraki's visit to Adils with little variation from the other 
accounts. The visit was in this case a hostile one, and 
was caused by the failure of Adils to pay certain of Hrolf's 
warriors rewards which he had promised them in return 
for their assistance in a campaign against King Ali of 
Norway. 

The Danes were helped by Yrsa, who gave her son 
Hrolf treasure (namely the Sviagris, a bracelet or necklace 
(baugr) which was an heirloom in Adils' family) and 
assisted him to escape. He was overtaken by Adils at 
Fyrisvellir. In order to gain time for his flight, Hrolf 
threw down the necklace, and exulted when he saw Adils 
bow to the ground to pick it up, for he was glad that 
the most powerful of the Swedes should bend before 
him. 



Arngrim Jonsson's Epitome of Skjqldungasaga. 

The genealogy of Danish kings contained in Skjgld- 
ungasaga will be found with the other genealogies in 
Appendix ii. The figure of Frid-Frodi (called by Arn- 
grim, Frode fridgode) appears at the same point, and in 
the same connection as in Skdldsk., Ch. XLIV (Arngr. 
Ch. III). Six generations later than this Frode fridgode 
(Frid-Frodi) we find a certain Rigus, a chieftain of noble 
birth who won the hand of Dana, the daughter of Danprus 
of Danpsted. Rigus was the first who bore the title of 
king. His son Dan or Danus inherited the kingdom and 



THE DANES 7*7 

it was called after him (Ch. vi). Dan II* was called hin 

o , 

mikillati] he conquered Aleifus, the king of Selandiaf, 
and married Olafa, the daughter of Vermundus, by whom 
he had a son Frodo (Ch. vii). Frodo, surnamed the peace- 
ful (cf. Frodii hin fri^sami), married Inga, the daughter 
of Ingo, king of Sweden, and had two sons Fridleivus 
(Frimeif ) and Halfdanus (Halfdan) (Ch. vii, 2). Fridleivus 
succeeded his father as king ; he was a valiant and warlike 
prince, and was surrounded by a band of famous warriors 
of whom the greatest was Starcardus (Starkad). Frid- 
leivus carried off Hilda, daughter of Alo (Ale), the king of 
the Norwegian Uppland. He had by her a son Alo (Ali) 
and by another wife a son Frodo (Frodi) (Ch. viii). 

Frodo, having been born in lawful wedlock, took 
precedence of his brother and became king; he was 
surnamed hin fraege (the famous), while Alo, who was 
a sea-king, was called hin froekni (the bold). Alo was 
successful in warfare and had conquered Sweden, when 
Frodo bribed Starcardus to kill him, out of jealousy of 
his growing power. Starcardus performed the deed, but 
was afterwards disgusted at his own action, and left Frodo's 
service in order to go upon campaigns in Russia and 
Sweden. Frodo conquered Jorundus (Jgrund) king of 
Sweden and exacted tribute both from him and from the 
Swedish earl S verting; he also ravished Jorundus' daughter 
who bore him a son Halfdanus, while by his own wife he 
had a son Ingialldus (Ingjald). Ingialldus made good to 
Sverting the defeat which he had suffered, by marrying 

* Arngrim believes several kings to have intervened between Dan I 
and Dan II, but is entirely ignorant of their names and histories. 

t It is not clear whether Selandia is to be interpreted as Sjaelland, or 
as the district called by King Alfred Sillende. 



78 THE DANES 

his daughter. But Jorundus and Sverting conspired 
against Frodo's life, and the latter was murdered by 
Sverting and his sons (Ch. ix). Ingialldus took no ven- 
geance on Sverting, but allowed him to expiate his crime 
by the payment of blood-money ; his brother Halfdanus, 
however, avenged the death of their father Frodo by 
killing the sons of Sverting, while Ingialldus, at the 
instigation of Starcardus, put away his wife, Sverting's 
daughter, who had borne him a son Agnarus (Agnar). 
Ingialldus rewarded Halfdanus for killing Sverting's sons 
by giving him a third of the kingdom, whereupon Half- 
danus married Sigrida, by whom he had two sons, Roas 
(Hroar) and Helgo (Helgi), and a daughter Signya (Signy). 
But Ingialldus became jealous of his brother ; so he killed 
Halfdanus and married his widow ; they had two sons, 
Raerecus (Hraerek) and Frodo. In the meantime Half- 
danus' daughter Signya was married to Earl Sevillus 
(Saevil) in Selandia ; his sons Roas and Helgo were 
brought up in secret on a certain island of Scania, and 
when they grew up, avenged the death of their father by 
killing their uncle, Ingialldus (Ch. x). 

Helgo and Roas now became kings of Denmark ; Roas 
was peacefully inclined and remained at home, while 
Helgo went on viking. The story of Helgo 's adventure 
with Olava (Olof), wife of Geirtiofius (Geirdjof), earl of 
the Saxons, is practically the same as that of Hrolfss. It 
may be observed, however, that here, as in Yngls. (Ch. 
XXXII f.), Yrsa is represented as having been queen of 
Sweden before she married her father Helgo. Helgo was 
killed on viking five years after Yrsa had finally left him 
(Ch. XI). 

When Helgo was killed, his son Rolfo Krake (Hrolf 



THE DANES 79 

Kraki) was eight years old: Rolfo reigned jointly with 
his uncle Roas, until the latter was killed by Raerecus 
and Frodo the sons of Ingialldus, after which R-olfo Krake 
reigned alone. At this point Arngrim introduces the story 
of Yggg (Woggerus) which it is unnecessary to repeat, as 
his account does not differ from that of other sources. 

Rolfo Krake's daughters were Driva and Skur; the 
former he married to his warrior Witserchus (Hvitserk) 
while the hand of the latter was gained by Bod varus 
(Bgdvar) who killed Agnarus the son of Ingialldus. 
Rolfo's half-sister ScuUda (Skuld) the daughter of Yrsa 
and Adilsus (Adils) had been taken in marriage by 
Hiorvardus (Higrvard) a king of Eyland (Oland), without 
Rolfo's consent ; Rolfo therefore made war on Hiorvardus, 
and having defeated him, forced him to pay tribute for his 
kingdom. 

The account of the relations between Rolfo (BLrolf ) and 
Adilsus (Adils) as contained in Arngrim's Skjglds. is 
much the same as that of Skdldsk. (Gh. 44), with one 
important exception. The three treasures promised by 
Adils to Hrolf Kraki before the battle on Lake Wener, 
and afterwards withheld by him, are mentioned, but are 
not specified by name, and, as after events show, Arngrim 
at least had not realised that Sviagris was one of them. 
For when the Danes fled from Upsala (Arngr. Oppsala) 
and had thrown down gold in a vain attempt to check 
the Swedish pursuit, Rolfo Krake drew from his finger 
" a ring of enormous value, which his ancestors had 
brought back as booty from the vanquished kings of 
Sweden," and threw it down before Adilsus, with the 
result which we already know (cf. p. 76). Rolfo Krake's 
subsequent history as told by Arngrim, viz. Hiorvardus' 



80 THE DANES 

treachery, Rolfo's death (Ch. xii), and Woggerus' (Vggg's) 
revenge, corresponds to the narrative of Hrolfss., except 
that the incident of the burning down of Leire during 
the attack of Hiorvardus is not referred to at all in 
SkJQldungasaga. 

III. Comparison of Evidence with 

REGARD TO THE DaNES. 

Now that we come to compare and sift all the evidence 
regarding the Danes, which has been collected, we shall 
find it a very difficult if not impossible task to separate 
genuine tradition from mere legend in the tangled web of 
saga, poem, and historical document presented to us. 
The allusions made by classical historians to the Danes 
are so bare, that they afford practically no foothold on 
which to base conclusions : the Scandinavian evidence, on 
the other hand, might be compared to the work of many 
artists, all of whom have attempted to make a memory 
sketch of some great picture : in the work of each the 
pictures are differently grouped, their expressions, atti- 
tudes, costumes are different, even the background is not 
always the same : each artist has drawn upon his imagina- 
tion to fill up the gaps left by memory or by ignorance of 
the facts. By far the most important recent work on 
early Danish tradition seen through the medium of poem 
and saga is the Danmark's Heltedigtning of Dr Axel Olrik 
(Copenhagen, 1903), and in the course of the following 
pages an attempt has been made to embody his chief 
results, though it has not always been possible to accept 
his conclusions. Dr Olrik lays great stress on the evidence 
of the Bjarkamdl, a poem of which the original (except for 



THE DANES 81 

a couple of fragments in Old Norse) has been lost, but 
which has been preserved in an apparently complete form 
in a Latin translation by Saxo (ed. Holder, pp. 59-66). 
It is also partially preserved, although in a very corrupt 
form, in the last chapter of Hrolfss. According to 
Dr Olrik {D. H. D. pp. 42-61, 83-114) this poem is 
undoubtedly the oldest and most important piece of 
Scandinavian evidence which we possess regarding the 
events in question (viz. Rolf Kraki's defeat and death 
at the hands of Higrvard): he claims further that the 
poem is of Danish origin, and that it was composed about 
the middle of the tenth century. For these reasons its 
authority is a valuable criterion of genuineness in the 
investigation of early Danish tradition. There is no 
conflict of evidence among the early historical documents 
(Jordanes, Procopius, etc.) which mention the Danes, but, 
as already mentioned, these references, owing to their 
extreme meagreness, do not yield us results of any great 
value in the reconstruction of the early history of the 
nation. 

Scandinavian sources which deal with the period of 
Danish history in question agree in their broad outlines, 
but vary in points of detail. All accounts agree as to 
the existence of a Danish king Halfdan, who is certainly 
identical with the Healfdene of the Beowulf (vide inf, 
pp. 130 fF.); but while according to the Beowulf, Halfdan 
had three sons, Heorogar, Hrothgar and Halga, and a 
daughter, who was probably the wife of Onela, king of 
Sweden, but whose name is not preserved in the MS. 
(cf Beo., 1. 62), Scandinavian authorities allow Halfdan 
only two sons, Ro (Hrothgar) and Helgi (Halga). The 
Halga of the Beowulf is merely a lay figure, whereas 

c. . 6 



82 THE DANES 

Helgi plays a most important part in Danish tradition, 
although different records do not always agree as to the 
facts of his career. Thus, according to Saxo (p. 51), 
King Helgi, overcome by the thought of his former sins, 
went to the East and died, or committed suicide. Accord- 
ing to Yngls. (Ch. 33) Helgi met his death in battle, while 
according to Hrolfss. (Ch. 12) he was treacherously slain 
by Adils, during a visit to the Swedish court at Upsala. 

Yrsa and Hrolf Kraki. 

The version of the story of Yrsa contained in Yngls. 
varies from that of Saxo and Hrolfss., inasmuch as in the 
first mentioned authority the course of events has without 
doubt been confused {vide inf. p. 142); thus in Yngls. 
Yrsa is represented as the wife of Adils, king of Sweden, 
before she married Helgi, and became the mother of 
Hrolf Kraki. In Yngls. and Hrolfss. the mother of Yrsa 
is called Olof or Alof of Saxland: in Saxo she appears as 
Thora of the island of Thorey, and is not a queen, as she 
is said to be in Yngls. 

Dr Olrik's theory about Yrsa, w^hich is based on 
philological grounds, presents her whole story in a com- 
pletely new light. By means of a lengthy enquiry into 
the origin of the name Yrsa, and of similar names, he 
shows {a) that the name Yrsa is otherwise unknown in 
Norse, and must, therefore, be of foreign origin, (6) that it 
is derived from the Lat. ursus = bear, (c) that although 
various names derived from this root are found amongst 
Teutonic peoples, they always occur in districts which 
either bordered on the Roman Empire, or had been other- 
wise subject to Roman influence. As a further proof that 



THE DANES 83 

the name Yrsa was foreign to the North, he cites Hrolfss., 
where it is said that Olof called her daughter after her 
dog (cf. Fas. I, p. 22). Hence he arrives at the conclusion 
that if Yrsa is an historical character she must have 
belonged not to the Danes, but to some Southern people 
on the borders of the Roman Empire, probably the Franks 
— and that Helgi must have found and married her on 
one of his freebooting raids. Evidence of communication 
between the Danes and the Franks at this time is provided 
by Gregory of Tours' account of Hygelac's raid (Greg. 
Tur. Ill, 3). This supposition about Yrsa leads Olrik to 
discard the whole story of her birth as given in Scandinavian 
sources, and consequently also that of Hrolf Kraki's incest- 
uous origin. The only point in the story which he allows 
to stand is that " Helgi, in the course of his voyages as a 
sea-king, landed on a foreign shore, whence he took away 
with him a fair maiden as his bride *." The whole account 
of Helgi's relations with Yrsa's mother, Olof or Thora, he 
rejects as a modern accretion to the story. 

The question of Hrolf's incestuous birth is discussed 
at length, and it is shown that there is no epic necessity 
for its truth, as it may have been first ascribed to him 
merely by analogy with other heroes. Almost all the 
greatest figures of hero-saga had this stain; Sinfjgtli, 
Cuchullin, Gawain, Roland, all sprang from the union 
of brother and sister. The offspring of such a union was 
in most cases the greatest of his race — sometimes the 
chief figure within the range of the national poetry — 
inasmuch as he had in his veins the combined strength 
of two members of the same great family. But with him 

* D. H. D. p. 154: "Helge, pa sin faerd som s^rkonge, kom til en 
fremmed kyst, og bortfe^rte den fagre jomfru som sin brud." 

6—2 



84 THE DANES 

the whole stock usually came to a sudden and violent 
end; from which our natural inference is that the guilt 
of the parents was visited on the child. It is thus possible, 
according to Olrik, that as Hrolf was the greatest and 
also the last of his race, an incestuous origin may have 
been attributed to him as a sort of necessity arising from 
the facts of his subsequent career. This necessity may 
even have been extended to include and consequently to 
account for the whole story of Helgi's life and of his early 
unhappy end (c£ inf. p. 141). 

The important part played by Yrsa Dr Olrik attributes 
to the circumstance that Hrolf's father had died while he 
was still an infant, in consequence of which, according to 
ancient usage, Hrolf would be brought up by his mother 
and would be called by her name {D. H. D. pp. 144-159). 

Closely connected with Yrsa is Hrolf Kraki's visit to 
Upsala. Saxo, Hrolf ss. and Skjglds. (as repr. by Skdldsk. 
and Arngrim Jonsson) agree as to the fact of Hrolf's 
expedition to the court of A3ils, but differ in the reason 
which they assign for this expedition. 

According to Saxo (ed. Holder, pp. 53-55) Yrsa hated 
her husband Adils on account of his miserly disposition, 
and desired to be rid of him. She therefore invited Hrolf 
to come to Sweden, and together they stole away, taking 
with them much of Adils' treasure. 

In Hrss. (Fas. i, pp. 76-95) the motive assigned for 
Hrolf's expedition to Sweden is that he was desirous of 
regaining the money which his father Helgi had had with 
him in Sweden when he was treacherously killed by Aclils 
some years before. 

In SMldsk (Ch. 44) the story differs yet again. Here 
Hrolf's expedition was in order to force Adils to pay 



THE DANES 85 

money which he refused to give up, and which he owed 
Hrolf and his berserks for the assistance they had given 
him against King Ali of Norway. 

According to Skdldsk. then, Hrolfs expedition was 
avowedly a hostile one : according to Saxo and Hrolfss., 
he went to Sweden on the pretext of paying Adils a visit, 
but the relations between the two were no more amicable 
in the one case than in the other, and the details of 
Hrolfs stay correspond more or less exactly in all three 
accounts. The incident is not directly alluded to in the 
Yngls. 

The absence of any sort of agreement amongst existing 
records regarding the motive of Hrolfs visit to Upsala 
makes us suspicious of all the explanations which they 
offer to account for it. It is also difficult to accept 
Dr Olrik's interpretation of the incident (Z). H. D., pp. 37 f., 
179-184, 202-208) which is largely affected by his 
disbelief in the identity of Beowulf and Bgctvar-Bjarki. 
He rejects, as of late Norwegian origin, the view which 
regards Hrolfs visit as a sequel to the battle of Lake 
Wener, and, in fact, repudiates the whole incident of the 
fight on the frozen lake, as having no connection with 
Hrolf Kraki whatever. Apart from that he condemns 
the motive of seeking reward for past services as utterly 
unworthy and ignoble. Olrik also refuses to accept Saxo's 
explanation, which he considers improbable, but he sub- 
stitutes for it one at least equally improbable, viz., that 
Adils probably invited his step-son to Upsala with the 
intention of treacherously killing him, "this being a 
frequent motif of hero-saga." He leaves quite out of 
consideration the fact that, in such cases, some reason — 
or at any rate pretext — usually existed for these murder- 



86 THE DANES 

ous designs on the part of the host, and that here there is 
no such reason. Hrolf has done his step-father no injury, 
nor is he the possessor of great treasure which could have 
given rise to the jealousy of Adils. Dr Olrik discards 
further the part played by Yrsa as a modern addition to 
the story, but it is difficult to see what grounds he has 
for so doing in the face of authority as early as that of 
Skdldskapermdl. 

On a close examination, it will be seen that the only 
features of the episode of the Upsala visit which remain 
unchanged in the various sources are the following : 
(1) the raison d'etre of Hrolf 's visit to Upsala was to 
obtain money from Adils, (2) Hrolf 's mother Yrsa was, 
at the time of her son's visit, in Upsala as Adils' wife. 

The Beowulf contains no suggestion of Eadgils' (Adils') 
marriage with a Danish queen; according to it the only 
relative of Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) in Sweden was his 
aunt, the sister of Halga (Helgi) and Hrothgar (Hroar), 
who married King Onela (cf. Beo. I, 62). There is how- 
ever no reason to doubt the fact of Adils' marriage 
with Yrsa, which is well substantiated in Scandinavian 
tradition. 

If we look at the chronology of the Beowulf we shall 
see that at the time of Beowulf's visit to King Hrothgar 
(Hroar), Halga (Helgi) was in all probability already 
dead. Hrothgar himself was already a very old man 
(cf Beo., 1. 357), and according to all Scandinavian tradi- 
tions the life of Halga (Helgi) who was his elder brother 
was cut short at a comparatively early point in his career. 
By this time too, Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) was already 
grown up, in fact in both Beowulf and Widsith he is 
represented as ruling jointly with his uncle Hrothgar 



THE DANES 87 

(cf. Wids. 11. 45-49; Beo. 11. 1074 ff., 1163 f., 1181 ff.)- 
It is a circumstance worthy of notice that only several 
years after Beowulf's exploit at the Danish court, does 
Eadgils (Actils) appear for the first time in the Beowulf 
story. He and his brother Eanmund, while apparently 
still young men, fled into Gautland in order to escape the 
vengeance of their uncle Onela, and it was some years 
later that Eadgils (Adils) overthrew Onela, and became 
king of Sweden in his stead (Beo. 11. 2379 ff., 11. 2391 ff ) 
(cf. also supra, p. 28). 

This survey of the chronology of the Swedish and 
Danish royal families as contained in the oldest known 
records makes it impossible for us to accept the account 
of Hrolfss., according to which Helgi was treacherously 
slain by Actils while on a visit to Upsala. The evidence 
of the Beowulf shows that in all probability Helgi (Halga) 
and Adils (Eadgils) were not even contemporaries, and 
the latter cannot, under any circumstances, have been 
more than an infant when Helgi's death took place. 
Hrolf (Hrothulf) himself must have been many years 
senior to Actils (Eadgils), if, at the time of Beowulf's 
visit to the Danish court, he was already of an age to 
rule, and we may thus infer that his mother Yrsa was 
quite an old lady by the time that Adils (Eadgils) was 
of a marriageable age. This being so, it seems more than 
probable that Actils, in marrying a person so much his 
senior as we know Yrsa must have been, had some 
ulterior motive which has not been directly preserved 
in tradition. 

Among the various reasons assigned for Hrolf's visit 
to Upsala, that of the Skjgldungasaga (as contained in 
Skdldsk. cf. supr. p. 76), which should be the most reliable, 



88 THE DANES 

we are obliged to reject, as it is most unlikely that Hrolf 
would have sent forces to take part in a campaign against 
All (Onela) his uncle by marriage. But at all events 
Ali was defeated and slain by Adils (with the help of 
Bgdvar-Bjarki, c£ Skdldsk. Ch. 44) who then succeeded 
him as king of Sweden. It was a common practice 
amongst early Northern nations for a conqueror to marry 
the widow of his predecessor in order to improve his 
position amongst his new subjects (e.g. the marriage of 
Cnut after his conquest of England in 1017 to the widow 
of Athelred the Unready). Thus it would have been a 
very natural thing for Adils to take to wife the widow 
of Ali — who, it must be remembered, was the sister of 
Hrolf's father, and who belonged to an earlier generation 
— notwithstanding the probable disparity of age between 
them. 

We find then on the one hand Aclils married to a 
woman so much his senior that we cannot conceive his 
motives in marrying her to have been other than political 
ones : we have on the other hand discovered a motive 
which might very well account for a marriage of this 
nature : it remains for us to fit, if possible, marriage and 
motive to one another. 

The chief point to be noticed in this connection is the 
relationship between Helgi and the wife of Adils. 

Yrsa*, Adils' wife, was the daughter, and at some 
time in her life, the wife of Helgi (Halga) ; the widow of 



Beowulf 

Healfdene 

1 


O.N. Tradition 

Halfdan 

1 


Halga ?= Onela 

1 
Hrothulf 


Yrsa = Helgi = 6lof 

1 1 
Hrolf Yrsa = Adils 



THE DANES 89 

King Ali (Onela) whom, as we have seen, it would have 
been quite natural for Adils to have married on his 
accession to the Swedish throne, was the sister of Helgi 
(Halga). All versions of the story of Yrsa lay stress on 
her illegal marriage with Helgi, by which she became the 
mother of Hrolf Kraki, and it seems conceivable that 
Scandinavian tradition may have substituted a marriage 
between father and daughter for one which was originally 
between brother and sister, and for w^hich parallel cases 
may be found in Northern tradition*. 

Were this the case the name of Yrsa would supply the 
gap in Beowulf, 1. 62, where a word beginning with a vowel 
is required for the alliteration: as the sister of Helgi 
(Halga) and the wife of Onela (Ali) her figure acquires 
new significance, and her marriage with Adils is at once 
satisfactorily explained f . 

If Yrsa were really the sister of Helgi and the missing 
name in Beowulf 1. 62, this would establish the truth of 
the origin attributed to Hrolf, and would bring him into 
line with the long roll of heroes of the migration period, 
so many of whom sprang from an illicit union of brother 
and sister (cf p. 83). The attempt to show that the story 

* I owe this suggestion to Mr H. M. Chadwick. 

t This leads on to a further suggestion regarding the motive under- 
lying Hrolf s visit to Upsala. All authorities agree that he went in order 
to obtain from Adils a certain sum of money ; we are led to infer that 
this money should have been paid before, but that it had been wrongly 
withheld by Adils who was of a miserly disposition. 

It is possible that what Hrolf went to fetch from Sweden was the 
*'mundr" of his mother Yrsa, i.e. the bride-price, due to the relatives of 
the bride, without the payment of which no marriage was legal : thus the 
main object of his visit and of his action in extorting the " mundr " from 
Adils would ultimately be to ensure the proper status and dignity of his 
mother as queen of Sweden (but vide inf. p. 141 f.) 



90 THE DANES 

of Hrolf's incestuous birth arose merely by the analogy of 
similar cases, would, if successful, seem to prove too much, 
as these cases themselves might be accounted for with as 
much likelihood in exactly the same way. 

Heoroweard. 

The Heoroweard of Beoiuulf, who was the son of 
Heorogar {Beo. 11. 2161-2), seems to correspond in name 
to the Higrvard of Scandinavian tradition (Saxo, Hiar- 
tuarius); but Scandinavian writers do not hint at any 
blood relationship between him and his brother-in-law 
Hrolf Kraki, while on the other hand, they do not seem 
to have auy clear conception of the political situation 
which underlay Higrvarct's attack and defeat of Hrolf 
Kraki at Leire. 

Hrolf s fall at Leire is the chief theme of Bjarkamdl, 
and here the only motive assigned for Hiartuarius' attack 
is the ambition of his wife Skuld : the soldiers of Hiar- 
tuarius are called in Bjarkamdl Goths or Swedes (Saxo, 
pp. 65 f.). All later Scandinavian sagas in describing the 
incident lay stress on the treachery of Higrvard and 
Skuld as the sworn vassals of Hrolf Kraki, but none of 
them give any satisfactory explanation of the nationality 
of Higrvard's army, aud no two accounts agree as to who 
and what Higrvard himself actually was. 

The identification of Higrvard with the O.E. Heoro- 
weard would supply the key to the situation. Heoroweard 
was the son of Heorogar, Hrothgar and Halga's elder 
brother, and thus had a claim to the Danish throne, prior 
to that of his cousin Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki) but one which 
he — perhaps like Hrethric {vide inf. p. 100) — was unable 



THE DANES 91 

to make good, on account of Hrothulf's superior power. 
In order to save his own life, he may, therefore, have 
sworn homage to Hrothulf, a pledge which, according to 
Scandinavian tradition, he afterwards broke. But none 
of the Northern sources, without exception, have any idea 
that Higrvard had an excuse for his treachery in the 
existence of a valid claim to the throne of Denmark, and 
as matters at present stand we have not enough evidence 
to prove conclusively his identity with the O.E. Heoroweard. 
It is, however, more probable than not that the two are 
the same, and that the events related in the Scandinavian 
sagas were in reality the outcome of the political situation, 
which is hinted at in the Beowulf, but which was subse- 
quently — after the lapse of centuries — completely forgotten 
(cf D. H. D. pp. 38-42). 

Hrothgar and Hrothulf. 

The most serious discrepancy between the account of 
the Danes in Beowulf, and that contained in Scandinavian 
tradition, concerns the person and character of Hrothgar 
(Scand. Ro, or Hroar). 

We have seen that in no Scandinavian authority does 
Ro play an important part : his personality is, on the 
other hand, distinctly colourless. He died early and was 
succeeded by his brother Helgi, Helgi in his turn being 
followed by the great Hrolf Kraki. In Hrolfss. the in- 
significance of Hroar is emphasized yet more, for according 
to it, he did not reign at all in Denmark, but went to 
Northumberland where he married and settled, leaving 
his brother Helgi in undisputed possession of the Danish 
throne. 



92 THE DANES 

But the evidence of Beowulf regarding Hrothgar 
(Hroar) points all the other way. He is everywhere 
referred to in terms of the greatest admiration and esteem, 
and stress is laid, throughout the poem, on the length and 
glory of his reign (cf. Beo. 11. 1769 ff.). 

At first sight it seems as if some confusion must have 
taken place between the two kings, as the part played by 
Hrothgar in O.E. tradition seems to correspond so exactly 
to that filled by Hrolf Kraki in Scandinavian records. 
In that case, though the bulk of evidence would favour 
the supposition that Hrolf Kraki was the more outstanding 
of their two men, it is all evidence of a late date — in no 
case earlier than the twelfth century — while on the other 
hand, the testimony of Beowulf although standing alone, 
is several hundred years earlier than that of the Scandi- 
navian records, and therefore cannot be lightly disregarded. 

But there is another possible explanation of the diffi- 
culty. Both Beowulf and Widsith represent Hrothgar 
and Hrothulf (Hrolf) as reigning together in Denmark 
in accordance with a practice which we frequently find 
amongst early Teutonic peoples, viz. that in any case 
where there were two or more adult members of a royal 
family, they reigned as joint kings in the country. Both 
poems also lay stress on what seems to have been a 
remarkable fact and very contrary to custom, namely, the 
friendly relations which existed between these joint rulers 
Hrothgar and Hrothulf (cf. Wids. 11. 45-49, Beo. 11. 1074 ff., 
1. 1163 f., 11. 1181 ff., 1. 1018 f). As Hrothulf was the 
nephew of Hrothgar, and presumably a much younger 
man, it is very probable that he survived his uncle, and 
continued to reign alone after Hrothgar 's death. If this 
was so, one can well see how his fame might in the course 



THE DANES 93 

of centuries have come to entirely overshadow that of 
Hrothgar, and how, when written records came to be 
made, this glorious epoch of Danish history was associated 
primarily with the name of Hrolf Kraki. 

On the other hand, the fame of Hrothgar may have 
reached England during that ruler's lifetime, and before 
it became eclipsed by that of his nephew. Indeed, it 
looks as if this must have been the case, as we have no 
evidence that England had any communication with the 
Baltic countries between Hrothgar s reign and the end of 
the eighth century, when the Danish invasion began. 
This explanation would also account for the very minor 
part played by Hrothulf in Beowulf. 

The Hall Heorot. 

The scene of Beowulf's exploit against Grendel is 
the great Heorot, which is said to have been built by 
Hrothgar, and is described with reverential admiration 
by the poet as the national hall and sanctuary of the 
Danes {Beo. 11. 67-85). 

The seat of the Danish kings was, according to the 
unanimous testimony of Scandinavian literature, Hleidr- 
gardr (Leire) on the island of Sjaelland (Zealand), the 
building of which is attributed in a good many authorities 
to Hrolf Kraki. In other references, however, we read of 
a castle of Hleidrgarctr having existed in very much 
earlier times (cf. Yngls. Ch. 31, where it is represented 
as being from the beginning the ancestral home of the 
Skjgldungar) and having been built by the founder of 
the dynasty. 

The Leire of to-day is a tiny village whose present 



94 THE DANES 

insignificance contrasts so strongly with the accounts of 
its former glory that some scholars have found it difficult 
to believe that it could ever have been the site of a royal 
residence. But not many miles from Leire stands Roes- 
kilde, which is an important town : it was formerly capital 
of Denmark and is the ancestral burial-place of the 
Danish kings. Roeskilde means "the fountain of Ro," 
and tradition connects the name of Ro with the building 
of the town. In view of these facts, it is somewhat diffi- 
cult to say whether the Heorot of the Beowulf is to be 
identified with Leire or with Roeskilde. 

Some light is thrown on the question by Dr Olrik, who 
has no doubt that the present Leire does represent the 
old Hleidrgardr, and is sure moreover that its former 
greatness is no fable, but has a solid foundation in fact. 
For through all tradition, the one thing which stands 
firmly established about Hleidrgardr is its connection 
with Hroar and Hrolf : that remains though all else goes. 
There is nothing, however, to show that it was a royal 
residence after the sixth century, and it is very possible 
that it was destroyed in the last great fight, when Hrolf 
Kraki met his death at the hands of the treacherous 
Higrvard (cf. Bjarkam., Saxo, pp. 59-66). The fall of a 
great king is always the starting-point for epic narrative, 
and probably the position of Leire in song and story is an 
attempt of the scalds to develop and enhance its former 
glory, which had come to such an untimely end. 

The view that Leire played a part in national poetry 
long after it had ceased to exist, and that it lived, so to 
speak, on its past reputation, would account satisfactorily 
for its later insignificance compared with the neighbouring 
Roeskilde. Another fact may have contributed to Leire's 



THE DANES 95 

loss of importance in mediaeval times : its great natural 
strength against any attack by sea was no longer a matter 
of such importance once the political status of the Danes 
was assured; the attention of the nation was then naturally 
turned rather to the increase of their commercial pros- 
perity, than to the necessity of self-defence, and this led 
to the growth of Roeskilde (D. H. D. pp. 188-200). 

As the difficulty of regarding the modern village of 
Leire as the site of the ancient Hleidrgardr has thus 
been cleared up, it seems more likely that Heorot is 
to be identified with it than with Roeskilde, and the 
fact that Hleidrgardr is represented throughout Scan- 
dinavian records as the national hall and sanctuary of 
the Danes would be in favour of this. The importance 
attaching to Roeskilde as the burial-place of the Danish 
kings probably dates only from Christian times. The 
tradition that a castle of Hleidrgardr existed in very 
early times is no argument against its identity with 
Heorot, for it is quite conceivable that, being built of 
wood, it might have been burned down (as we hear in 
Beo. 11. 82-3 that it was), and re-built by Hrolf Kraki. 

Hrethric. 

According to the Beowulf (I. 1189) Hrothgar had two 
sons, Hrethric and Hrothmund. Hrothmund is other- 
wise unknown, but Hrethric has been identified by 
Sarrazin, Olrik and others with the Roric (Hraerek, 
Roricus) who is a personage of considerable importance 
in Scandinavian tradition, although authorities are at 
variance with regard to the actual circumstances of his 
life. The following account of him is almost entirely 



96 THE DANES 

based on the evidence which has been collected by 
Dr Olrik (cf. D. H. D. pp. 28-34, 167-175), and which 
in some cases has led him to somewhat startling con- 
clusions, especially in his interpretations of the Beowulf 
and Widsith. 

Starting now as always from Bjarkamdly we find that 
Rolvo (Hrolf) slew R^ricus the son of the covetous Bgkus. 
The words which describe the incident are put into the 
mouth of Hjalto (Hjalti), and the passage is as follows* : 
"But let us who honour our king... go forth in the way 
the king taught us : our king who laid low Rorik the son 
of Bok the covetous {qui natum Bj^ki R^ricum stravit 
avari) and wrapped the coward in death. He was rich 
in wealth, but in enjoyment poor, stronger in gain than 
bravery : and thinking gold better than warfare, he set 
lucre above ail things, and ingloriously accumulated piles 
of treasure, scorning the service of noble friends." Hjalti 
goes on to tell how Rorik, when he was attacked by the 
navy of Hrolf, spread out treasure before his city gates 
in the hope of staying the fury of the enemy, and thus 
saving his own life. But Rolf the righteous assailed him, 
slew him, and captured his vast wealth, and shared among 
worthy friends what the hand of avarice had piled up in 
all those years. 

But Saxo knows another Roricus surnamed Slynge- 
bond, a brave and warlike ruler, and the son of Hotherus 
who followed Hiartuarius on the Danish throne (cf Saxo, 
ed. Holder, pp. 82 &.). This person appears as Rokil 
Slaghenback in Sven Aagesen's chronicle, where he is 
the direct successor of Hrolf Kraki. According also to 
the genealogy of the Icelandic Lgfdg., Hrolf Kraki is 

* Saxo Grammaticus, Books i — ix, translated by 0. Elton, p. 75. 



THE DANES 97 

succeeded by a Hraerek, who however is here surnamed 
Hnauggvanhaugi (covetous of rings or treasure) and is 
described as Ingiallz syn, i.e. the son of Ingjald. Three 
generations further down in the genealogy of Lgfstg. 
comes Hraerekr Slaungvanbaugi, the son of Halfdan (cf. 
Genealogies, p. 273). 

In the later version of the lost Skjgldungasaga, repre- 
sented by Arngrim Jonsson's fragmentary Latin transcript 
(Aarb. / nord. Oldkynd. 1894, pp. 104 ff.) (= A) and the 
recently discovered Bjarkarimur (Finnur Jonsson, Copen- 
hagen, 1904) (=B), Raerecus (Hraerekr Sl^ngvanbaugi) 
(B) is represented as the son of Ingjalldus (Ingjald). 
According to A, he and his brother Frodo (Frodi) kill 
Roas (Hroar) in revenge for their father's death, and after 
Rolfo Krake's death Raerecus divides the kingdom with 
Rolfo's son Walldarus (Arngr., Ch. xii-xiii). According 
to B, the relationships are the same, and here also Ingjald 
has been murdered by Hroar and Helgi. Hraerek then 
comes on board Hroar's ship, throws the ring Sviagris 
into the sea, and is lamed by the two brothers in revenge. 
He goes home and dies soon afterwards (Bjr. vii). In the 
Hrolfss. a similar story is told of Hr(5k (Hr^rek ?) who 
kills Hroar after throwing his ring into the sea ; but 
Helgi avenges his brother's death by crippling Hr6k 
{Fas, I, pp. 24 ff.). Thus Scandinavian sources all know 
a Roric (Hraerek Roricus) who is contemporary with Hrolf 
Kraki, and is surnamed Slanganhogi {Slanggenb^ghi), 
while in the oldest Icelandic genealogies he has apparently 
become two personalities, for we find Hraerekr hn^gg- 
vanbaugi and his grandson Hraerekr sl<^ngvanbaugi {Lfd^g.). 
The same confusion occurs in Saxo : for according to 
the Bjarkamdl (Saxo's version) Roricus was the son of 

c. 7 



98 THE DANES 

the covetous B(j(>kus. B(j)ki avari would be in Old Daoish 
hins nygga B(j>ks (O.N. hn^ggva Bangs) : this, as has been 
pointed out by Sarrazin {Engl. St. xxiv, 144 f.) and Olrik 
(D. H. D. p. 33), can scarcely be anything but a mistake 
for the epithet which we have already seen applied to 
B,oric, viz. hn^ggvanbaugi, perhaps in the strong form 
hn^ggvanbaugs, in which the genitive of a noun haugr 
(= ring) has been taken as the genitive of a proper name. 
This emendation also fits the description of E-^ricus, 
which follows, so exactly that in consideration of the 
age of the Bjarkamdl there can be little doubt that it 
was the term originally applied to him. It is easy to 
understand the scribal error which later on reproduced 
hn^ggvanbaugi as sl^ngvanbaugi (Saxo Slyngebond). The 
latter was, too, a more complimentary term and applied 
equally well to the R^ricus of Bjarkamdl, who threw down 
his treasure in order to appease the anger of his enemy. 
The mistake, as we have seen, led in some cases to an 
erroneous belief in the existence of the two Korics (Saxo, 
Lf^g.), to the further consequences of which we probably 
owe all the stories of later Scandinavian tradition 
(Hrolfss., Bjr., Saxo) which relate the throwing of the 
ring by Roric (Hraerek, Hrok, R^ricus) into the sea : 
they are merely late inventions to account for the curious 
surname of "ringslinger," the origin of which was unknown. 

Apart from the story of the ring, the later accounts of 
Roric in Scandinavian literature agree as to the main 
facts of Hroar's murder at his hands, and the subsequent 
vengeance taken for that murder (usually by Helgi), but 
vary in almost every other circumstance of the narrative. 

The clue to this tangle of conflicting evidence, says 
Dr Olrik, is to be found in the oldest records, viz. the 



THE DANES 99 

Beowulf ei>nd Widsith, which, taken in conjunction with 
Bjarkamdl, alone give the true explanation and the right 
sequence of events. Certain passages in the O.E. poems 
(Beo. 11. 1014-1019, 1163-1168, Wids. 11. 45-49*) contain 
for Dr Olrik a clear reference to an impending catastrophe 
in the Danish royal house. For the present, peace reigns in 
Denmark: Hrothgar and Hrothulf rule as joint sovereigns 
in love and goodwill. But evil days are in store: treachery 
will part those who were bound by oaths of friendship and 
ties of blood-fellowship. 

For the key to all these dismal prognostications we 
are referred by Dr Olrik to the Bjarkamdl, which relates 
how Hrolf Kraki overcame and killed Roric (R^ricus). 
After Hrothgar's death dissension arises between the 

* Beowulf, 11. 1014-1019. 

Faegere gethaegon 

medoful manig magas thara 

swith-hicgende on sele tham hean 

Hrothgar and Hrothulf. Heorot innan waes 

fre6ndum afylled ; nalles facen-stafas 

theod Scyldingas thenden fremedon. 
[Hrothgar and Hrothulf the stout-hearted kinsmen took full meetly 
many a cup of mead in the high hall. Heorot was filled within with 
friends; by no means did the people of the Scyldings then use treachery.] 

11. 1163-1168. 

tha cwom Wealhthe6 forth 

gan under gyldnum beage, thaer tha godan twegen 

saeton suhter-gefaederan : tha gyt waes hiera sib aetgaedere, 

aeghwylc othrum trywe : swylce thaer unferth thyle 

aet fotum saet frean Scyldinga : gehwylc hiora his ferhthe tredwde 

thaet he haefde m6d micel theah the he his magum naere 

arfaest aet ecga gelacum. 

[Then came forth Wealhtheow to go under a golden circlet, where the 

two good men, uncle and nephew, sat : as yet there was peace between 

them, each to the other true. Unferth the " thyle " sat there likewise at 

the feet of the Lord of the Scyldings : each of them trusted to his heart 

that he (i.e. Unferth) had a mighty courage, though he might not have 

been true to his kinsman at the play of swords.] 

7—2 



100 THE DANES 

cousins Hrethric and Hrothulf, and Hrethric is killed 
by the powerful Hrothulf ; for nothing would check more 
fatally the growth of this young kingdom than internal 
strife, and Hrothulf would have no alternative but to 
suppress promptly the first indications of civil unrest 
by the assertion of his superior power {D. H. D. pp. 14-18, 
29-34). Such is Dr Olrik's reconstruction of this passage 
of Danish history. The invention in late Scandinavian 
tradition of the story attributing the murder of Hroar 
to Roric (Hraerek, O.E. Hrethric), who as we see was 
originally Hroar's (O.E. Hrothgar's) son, he ascribes to 
a desire in the first instance to exculpate Hrolf (O.E. 
Hrothulf) from blame, and to make his action in killing 
Roric appear as a deed of righteous vengeance. The saga 
then became independent of Hrolf, and the figure of Helgi 
was added as the most suitable avenger of his brother 
Hroar {D. H. D. pp. 167-175). 

This explanation of the historical significance of the 
Hrethric of the Beowulf is extremely ingenious, but it 
rests solely on the evidence of Bjarkamdl, which is made 
to serve as the excuse for reading into the O.E. poems 
much which is not really there. It is a manifest ab- 
surdity to say with Dr Olrik (D. H. D. p. 330) that the 
tragic climax of the Beowulf is the struggle for the Danish 
throne between two rival branches of the great Skjgldung 
family. The most that the O.E. poems can be said ac- 
tually to contain is a hint of surprise at the friendly 
relations existing between Hrothgar and his nephew 
Hrothulf; in the light of events incontrovertibly known 
to have taken place later than the actio q of the Beowulf, 
these references might perhaps be regarded as prophetic 
utterances. But the difficulty lies in our complete 



THE DANES 101 

ignorance of later events ; for the sole authority of the 
Bjarkamdl with its one reference {qui natum B^ki 
M^ricum stravit avari) admittedly corrupt, and con- 
ceivably pointing to some person other than the Hrethric 
of Beowulf, is not conclusive, and is certainly not a 
sufficient foundation for the airy erection of hypotheses 
which Dr Olrik has built upon it. 

Hrothgar's Warriors. 

In addition to the members of the Danish royal family, 
the Beowulf poet mentions by name four of the warriors 
in Hrothgar's service : Unferth, Wulfgar, Aeschere and 
Yrmenlaf ; but, as it is only in the case of Unferth that 
the references consist of more than a passing allusion, and 
as, further, none of these characters are known in any 
other source, it is impossible to make even a conjecture 
as to their historical significance. 

Aeschere and Yrmenlaf were brothers (1. 1824). The 
former was a doughty warrior and trusted thegn and 
counsellor of king Hrothgar (11. 1323 ff.). He was snatched 
away by Grendel's mother on the night after Beowulf's 
first victory, when the monster, burning to avenge the 
death of her son, made a raid on Heorot (11. 1281 ff.). 
The old king was overcome with grief at the loss of his 
knight and companion in arms (cf Bugge, P. B. B. Xll, 
65 ff.). 

Wulfgar was a prince of the Wendlas (11. 348) and the 
herald of the Danish king ; Beowulf and his knights were 
received by him at the gate of Heorot on their arrival 
(11. 325 ff.). The Wendlas were perhaps the people of 
Vendill, which is the most northerly point of Jutland 
(cf. supr. p. 70). 



102 THE DANES 

Unferth is described as the " orator " (thyle) of King 
Hrothgar (1. 1165): his place was at the foot of the throne, 
and both Hrothgar and Hrothulf relied on his fidelity, 
although he had apparently betrayed and murdered his 
own brothers (11. 587, 1166 ff.). He was a man of a surly 
and jealous disposition, for on Beowulf's arrival at Heorot 
he sought to injure his reputation by taunts (11. 499 ff.): 
later on, however, he forgot his malice in admiration, and 
even went the length of lending Beowulf his famous sword 
Hrunting, when he was arming for his descent into the 
mere in search of Grendel's mother. 

Dr Olrik regards both the character of Unferth and 
his rdle in Beowulf as having a purely allegorical signifi- 
cance. The connection in which Unferth is mentioned 
in the poem (1. 1165 ; cf. supra, p. 99) is a sign (says 
Dr Olrik) that he was involved in the subsequent feud 
between the joint sovereigns of Denmark, which is the 
" tragic climax " of the poem. In fact Unferth may 
probably be looked upon as himself the promoter of this 
feud, and in this light his figure may be compared with 
that of the wicked counsellor Bikki in the Ermanric saga, 
and other similar characters. His very name is symbolic 
of the part which he plays in the story, according to 
Dr Olrik's interpretation — Unferth = imfrith = strife (cf. 
D. H. D. pp. 25-27). 

There is no justification whatever for this fanciful 
explanation of Unferth's appearance in Beowulf either 
in the poem or elsewhere, and it is impossible to attach 
value to it, the more so as the practice of giving names 
of abstract significance to real characters is one scarcely 
known in Scandinavian hero-legend. 



the danes 103 

The Heathobeakdan in Beowulf. 

The tribe of the Heathobeardan mentioned in Beowulf 
cannot be identified with any certainty. Various attempts 
have been made to prove that they were the Langobards 
(Grein in Ebert's Jahrbuch, IV, pp. 260-285) or the Heruli 
(Mullenhoff), but without success. 

The story of Frotha and Ingeld as told in Beowulf has 
already been given : a similar story is contained in the 
sixth book of Saxo's Danish history, but occurs in quite a 
different setting (Bk vi, pp. 200-215, ed. Holder), and the 
same set of events appears in a very much disguised form 
in Icelandic tradition. 

Saxo's account is as follows : — 

Frotho IV, King of the Danes, was treacherously slain 
by Swerting, King of the Saxons, a tributary sovereign 
who wished to regain his independence. At the same 
time, Frotho slew Swerting. Frotho was a wise, just and 
merciful ruler, and was beloved of all men : he was suc- 
ceeded by Ingellus, who was as vicious as his father was 
virtuous. He was a glutton and debauchee, and was lost 
to all sense of honour. Ingellus made peace with the 
sons of Swerting, his father's murderer, heaped favours on 
them, and took their sister to wife. 

News of Ingellus' shameful deeds reached Starcatherus, 
an old warrior who had formerly fought for Frotho, and 
who was at that time sojourning in Sweden. He was 
stung with anger and grief at the behaviour of the son 
of his old master, and straightway set off for Denmark 
in the hope of being able to rouse the sluggish spirit of 
Ingellus to action. On his arrival Ingellus was away 
hunting, and insults were heaped on Starcatherus by the 



104 THE DANES 

queen, who did not know who he was : but when the king 
returned and recognised the rough-mannered stranger to 
be Starcatherus, " he rebuked his wife and charged her 
roundly to put away her haughty tempers, and to soothe 
and soften with kind words and gentle offices the man she 
had reviled." But Starcatherus would have none of her : 
instead of partaking of the sumptuous banquet which 
followed, he arose in wrath and denounced Ingellus for 
his gluttony, and for his unfilial spirit in forgetting to 
avenge his father, and in allowing Frotho's murderers 
to occupy the seats of honour at his table. 

The severe rebuke of Starcatherus at last kindled a 
spark in the torpid soul of Ingellus : presently this spark 
blazed forth into flame, and Ingellus, mindful only of the 
shameful deed of the sons of Swerting, rushed on them 
with drawn sword, and with the help of Starcatherus slew 
them all, thus tardily avenging his father's death (Saxo, 
pp. 189-215). 

It is clear that this story is essentially the same as 
that told of the Heathobeardan in Beowulf (11. 2022- 
2069), but instead of representing Frotho and Ingellus 
as kings of the Heathobeardan and contemporary with 
Hrothgar of the Danes, Saxo has represented them as 
Danish kings thirteen generations later than Hrothgar. 

In Langfectgatal, Frode and Ingjald his son also appear 
as Danish kings, but here their names occur before those 
of Helgi and Hroar, Ingjald being only one generation 
earlier than these two. 

But a reminiscence of the Heathobeardan, described 
in the Beowulf as Hrothgar 's contemporaries, seems to be 
preserved in the Hothbroddus, king of Sweden, mentioned 
hy Saxo (p. 51) as the father of Athislus and Hotherus, 



THE DANES 105 

and the slayer of Ro. An account of the relations between 
Hothbroddus and the kings of Denmark has been given 
earlier in this chapter (p. 73), and the fact that Hoth- 
broddus was defeated and killed, and his kingdom made 
subject by a Danish king, confirms the evidence as to the 
fate of the Heathobeardan, which we already possess. 

In Hothbroddus, which is apparently the same word 
as Heathobeard, we have an instance of the personification 
of a tribe or people as one man. Instances of this process 
are frequent in ancient times ; cf. Hunding(us) (Saxo, 
p. 51) and the Hundingas {Wids. L, 23), Hading(us) 
{Saxo, p. 19) and the Hjadningar (Skdldsk. Ch. 50). 

According to O.N. tradition (with the exception of 
Yngls.) Halfdan was killed by his brother — who appears 
variously as Frodi or Ingjald — and avenged by his sons 
Hroar and Helgi, who themselves narrowly escaped 
death at the hands of their uncle* (cf supr. pp. 63 f.). 
A narrative similar in detail to that of Hroar and Helgi's 
revenge as told in Hrolfss., and probably derived from 
Norse tradition, occurs in the seventh book of Saxo ; here 
it is related of the Danish king, Frotho V, who murdered 
his brother Harald(us) and was killed in revenge by 
Harald's sons, Halfdan (Haldanus) and Harald(us) (Saxo, 
pp. 217 f ). 

With regard to the background or framework of the 
events forming our story. Old English, Icelandic and 

* In Skjglds. (Arngr. Jonss. and Bjr.) Ingjald and Halfdan are brothers 
the sons of Frodi. Halfdan is murdered by Ingjald and avenged by his 
own sons Hroar and Helgi. According to Arngrim's version however, 
Halfdan had previously taken vengeance for the murder of his father 
Frodi by the Swedish earl Sverting, by killing Sverting's twelve sons as 
in Saxo : and Ingjald, at Starkad's instigation, had put away his wife, 
Sverting's daughter, for a similar reason. 



106 THE DANES 

Danish traditions are strikingly at variance with one 
another. In the O.E. poems, the Danish kings (Scyl- 
dings, O.N. Skjgldungar) and the Heathobeardan are 
represented as two separate dynasties, and the struggle 
between them appears as a tussle for supremacy between 
petty kings, before the power of the Danish kingdom was 
firmly established. In Icelandic tradition, however, the 
struggle between Halfdan and his sons, on the one side, 
and Frodi and Ingjald, on the other, has become a blood- 
feud between two competing branches of the Skjgldung 
family : there is no longer any question of rival dynasties. 
Again Danish tradition (Saxo) represents both Frotho and 
Ingellus as kings of the Danes, and has transferred the 
whole story to a much later period : the murderer of 
Frodi is here, as in Arngr. Jonsson's Skjglds., Swerting, 
who is no longer a Swedish earl, but king of the 
Saxons, although in both cases a vassal of the Danish 
sovereign. 

In the matter of detail, it is to be noted that different 
sources choose for elaboration different features of the 
story. For example, in the O.E. poems, Ingeld's revenge 
is described, while the occasion of that revenge, viz. the 
murder of his father Frodi, is only mentioned in passing. 
But in Icelandic sources, it is Frodi's murder on which 
emphasis is laid : it was itself a deed of vengeance 
and nothing is said of the revenge for that revenge 
except in Arngrim's version of the Skjglds., according 
to which Hroar was killed by the sons of Ingjald ; 
while the revenge story proper is introduced in a 
different connection*. Saxo has preserved, as we have 
seen, accounts both of Frotho's crime and murder 

* See note on p. 105. 



THE DANES 107 

(pp. 217 ff.), and of Ingellus' revenge* (pp. 199 ff.); 
probably also that of the final defeat of the Heatho- 
beardan by the Danes (p. 53). But that he had no 
clear idea of the real significance and interdependence 
of these incidents is shown by the way in which he 
has treated them in his history : for they are intro- 
duced at altogether different periods, and are tacked on 
to the persons of kings separated from one another by 
generations. 

Little doubt can be entertained that the strife of the 
Danes and the Heathobeardan was in reality the outcome 
of a situation such as is described in Beotuulf and Widsith,^ 
viz. a bloody struggle between two dynasties of petty 
kings for political supremacy. The probability seems to 
be that the Heathobeardan were originally one of the 
several tribes who occupied lands on the western Baltic : 
they were, perhaps, in common with the Danes, one of 
the seven tribes mentioned by Tacitus (cf. sup. p. 62) 
as united by the cult of the Goddess Nerthus. In the 
constant struggles which mark the gradual consolidation 
of every great state, the Danes appear to have gained 
the upper hand, and to have gradually absorbed various 
other originally independent peoples, of whom the Hea- 
thobeardan were one. 

The distinctive name and character of these peoples 
were in time consequently lost, while the names of some 
of their former rulers survived; and these names have 
apparently been incorporated with the genealogies of the 

* Here we are told even the name of the eald aescwiga, viz. 
Starcatherus, and a long description of him is given ; in fact Starcatherus 
(O.N. Starkad) is one of the chief characters of Saxo's history, and of 
Northern tradition in general. 



108 THE DANES 

Danish royal families by later historians, who knew 
nothing of them, further than that they were the names 
of kings who had once ruled in Denmark. These his- 
torians were thus — as perhaps also in the case of 
Higrvard — driven to invent a fresh explanation for 
facts, whose real underlying causes had been meanwhile 
completely forgotten*. 

The account of the feud between the Danes (Scyl- 
dungas, O.N. Skjgldungar) and the Heathobeardan resolves 
itself into a long story of revenge and counter-revenge. 
The first episode in this story of which we hear anything 
is the murder of Healfdene (Halfdan) by Froda (Frodi) 
or Ingeld (Ingjald), which is recorded by O.N. authorities; 
this would be quite in harmony with the course of after 
events in the Beowulf ^ but in view of the evidence of 
Yngls., viz. that Halfdan died and was buried at Upsala, 
it cannot be accepted without reservations -[■ (cf. also 
pp. 130 ff., 69, 135). The Danes avenged themselves for 
Healfdene's death by killing Froda {Beo. 11. 2047 ff., 
Icel. Sagas, Saxo, Bks vi and vii). Apparently a battle 
took place {Beo. 11. 2047 ff.) in which Hrothgar (Hroar) 
and Halga (Helgi) — or possibly Hrothgar and Hrothulf 

* What has happened in the case of Froda and Ingeld appears to 
have also taken place with regard to Waermund and Offa, who were in 
reality kings of Angel, but whose names have become incorporated with 
the genealogies of Danish kings (cf. Ch. iv, on Offa). 

+ Dr Olrik regards the O.N. evidence as worthless, and prefers to 
accept the statement of Saxo, Sv. Aag. and other mediaeval Danish 
chronicles that Halfdan killed his brother and took the kingdom 
(Z). H. D. pp. 175 ff.). But this seems to have been in the first instance 
a corruption, which was then perpetuated by later writers, the more so 
as Halfdan, in spite of his crime, is reported to have died a peaceful 
death — a circumstance which causes the chroniclers great astonishment 
(but cf. inf. pp. 130 ff.). 



THE DANES 109 

(Hrolf) — defeated the Heathobeardan (Beo. 1. 2051), and 
in which Froda (Frodi) fell by the hand of Swerting 
(Saxo, Bk VI, p. 189 ; Arngr. Jonss., Ch. ix). 

At a later date — probably after the lapse of several 
years (cf. inf. p. Ill), and perhaps after another battle 
in which the Danes inflicted a signal defeat on Ingeld 
at Heorot (cf Wids. 11. 45-49, inf. p. 110), Hrothgar 
(Hroar) gave his daughter Freawaru in marriage to Ingeld 
(Ingjald) in the hope of bringing the strife to an end. 
Freawaru took with her as page or aide-de-camp a young 
nobleman, the son of the warrior who had slain Froda 
(viz. Swerting) — an arrangement which, under the cir- 
cumstances, can scarcely have been intended as an insult, 
and can, therefore, only be characterised as extremely 
tactless on the part of King Hrothgar. This young Dane 
actually wore the armour of the murdered Froda, and 
boasted openly of the Danish victory amongst the Heatho- 
beardan, until at last Ingeld, roused by the exhortations 
of the old warrior (Starkad), murdered him one night, 
after which he apparently fled from the country (Beo. 
1. 2061 f ). 

These events, viz. Ingeld's marriage and the murder 
of the faemnan thegn, seem to have taken place in 
Denmark, at or near Heorot, where we may suppose 
Ingeld to have settled with his bride. Beo. 1. 2061 f.* 
can hardly refer to anyone but Ingeld, and they certainly 
imply that after killing the young Dane he effected his 
escape, owing to his knowledge of the country. It would 

* Beo. 1. 2061 f. 

him se other thonan 
losath lifigende, con him land geare. 
[The other got away thence with his life because he knew the 
country.] 



110 THE DANES 

be quite in accordaoce with the customs of these times 
for a warrior to settle down amongst his wife's relations 
rather than to take her back to his own country (cf. Hroar 
in Hrss., Sigurd in Vglss., etc.): indeed the chief object 
of such marriages was, in many cases, to cement and 
strengthen the newly formed bond of friendship between 
those who had previously been enemies. 

The course of events after this point is obscure. There 
is clear indication {Beo. 11. 82 ff.) that Ingeld returned 
subsequently to Heorot with an army, and succeeded in 
burning down the hall. This battle may have had fatal 
consequences for the Danes, and it is quite possible that 
Hrothgar himself was killed*. Many scholars believe, 
however, that this engagement is identical with the one 
mentioned in Wids, 11. 45-49, and that the passage does 
not point to events which took place before Ingeld's 
marriage. In that case the result would be just the 
reverse — a Heathobeardan instead of a Danish defeat. 

The chief difficulty of any attempt to reconstruct the 
course of the Heathobeardan struggle is the question of 
chronology, and especially the point in the story to which 
the Widsith passage (11. 45-49) should be assigned. With 
regard to the actual date of any of the events mentioned, 
we have extremely little to go upon. Beowulf's visit to 
king Hrothgar probably took place about the year 500 A.D., 
or possibly a little earlier (cf. Ch. l). At that time 
Hrothgar was an old man and bad reigned for a long 
time (cf. Beo. 11. 357, 608, 1769, «fec.). The story of 
Ingeld's marriage and revenge, which Beowulf tells 

* Cf. Saxo, II, p. 52, according to which Eo (Hrothgar) was slain by 
Hothbroddus, cf. Arngr. Jonss.'s epitome of Skjglds. Ch. xii, according 
to which Hroar was killed by the sons of Ingjald. 



THE DANES 111 

Hygelac on his return to Geatland, must be regarded 
as a prophecy of future events, for when Beowulf was 
in Denmark, Freawaru's presence still gladdened the 
guests in her father's hall {Beo. 11. 2022 ff.). There 
is a chronological objection to the most usual interpre- 
tation of the episode referred to in Wids. 11. 45-49, viz. 
that it took place after the murder of Freawaru's thegn, 
and is identical with the battle hinted at in Beo. 11. 82 ff., 
and, therefore, the last incident in the struggle of which 
the O.E. poems show any knowledge. For after this 
battle, Hrothgar and Hrothulf are said to have ruled 
together '*for a very long time*," and we have seen that 
Hrothgar was already an old man before Freawaru's 
marriage. The assumption that the Widsith battle took 
place very shortly before Ingeld's marriage to Freawaru 
is, of course, open to the same objection though in a 
lesser degree. On the other hand, it is possible that the 
lengest of Wids. need not be interpreted as meaning 
more than a few years, and again, as the quarrel between 
Danes and Heathobeardan seems to have continued in- 
termittently for more than a generation, this great Danish 
victory may have taken place on some occasion other than 
the two which we have mentioned as possible. In the 
present state of the evidence there is no means of coming 
to a satisfactory conclusion on this point. 

If we assume, however, that the Heathobeardan defeat 
of Wids. 11. 45-49, Ingeld's marriage to Freawaru, and 
the events subsequent to it, took place after Beowulf's 

* Beo. 11. 1163 ff. 

Thaer tha godan twegen 

saeton suhter-gefaederan : tha gyt waes hiera sib aetgaedere 
aeghwylc othrum tr^we. 



112 THE DANES 

visit to Denmark, we may assign as their approximate 
date the very beginning of the sixth century*: the next 
question is the date of Froda's death and the interval 
which elapsed between that and Ingeld's revenge. 

Taking as a starting-point the marriage of Ingeld 
and Freawaru, we see that Ingeld and Hrothulf were 
of the same generation, and consequently also Froda 
and Hrothgar. Thus Froda was a generation later, and 
probably a much younger man than Healfdene. This 
makes us inclined to doubt the Icelandic tradition, ac- 
cording to which Hroar (Hrothgar) and Helgi (Halga) 
executed revenge on Frodi (Froda) while they were still 
boys. Probably this story was an invention made by 
Icelandic "sagamen" to balance matters, at the same 
time that Frodi (Froda) was moved up a generation 
and represented as the brother of Halfdan (Healfdene). 
Again it is highly probable that a considerable period — 
probably fifteen or twenty years — lay between Froda's 
death and Ingeld's revenge ; for the admonitions of the 
eald aescwiga Starkad only have point if they can be 
taken as referring to an event, the memory of which, 
though still an open sore in the mind of the old man^ 
was scarcely even a scar in that of the young. If Hrothgar 
and Halga executed vengeance on Froda (in a battle as 
has been suggested, cf p. 108), the death of the last men- 
tioned probably took place when Hrothulf and Ingeld were 
still children, and hostilities between the two tribes would 
in that case be suspended for some years, until Ingeld 

* The presence of Starkad in the story prevents us from putting it 
at any later date, for, as we shall see (cf. inf. p. 117), Starkad who was an 
old warrior at this time is represented as serving in his youth kings wha 
flourished during the first half of the fifth century. 



THE DANES 113 

was grown up. But according to the Grottas. (cf. 
p. 75), Hrolf (Hrothulf) was the avenger of Healfdene. 
If Hrothgar (Hroar) with Hrothulf (Hrolf) instead of 
Halga (Helgi) killed Fro^i, then Ingeld (Ingjald) would 
already be a grown man, and very little time would elapse 
between his father's murder and his own marriage and 
revenge. But this second possibility is, from every point 
of view, less likely than the first*, and chiefly because it 
is only if we can suppose a considerable time to have 
elapsed between Froda's murder and Ingeld s revenge that 
the r61e of Starkad receives its full poetical significance. 

Note. — At this point ends the evidence of the Old 
English poems : indeed with Hroar 's death we have 
already gone beyond them. But to judge from the 
Scandinavian evidence which we possess, the Heatho- 
beardan struggle seems to have continued into the next 
generation, for we hear that Agnar, Ingj aid's (Ingeld's) 
son, was slain by Bgdvar-Bjarki, the warrior of Hrolf 
Kraki (cf. Bjarkamdl in Saxo, II, 64; Saxo, p. 66; Hrolf ss. 
p. 104 ; Bjarkarimur, Vii). In some sources we find for 
the second time the story of a wedding with a Danish 
princess, here told of Agnar : strife breaks out, this time 
at the wedding ceremony, resulting in the death of the 
bridegroom by the sword of Bgdvar-Bjarki, who is re- 
warded for his prowess by receiving the hand of the lady. 
This story of a wedding disturbed by strife is combined 
by Scandinavian writers with another already existing 
motif, viz. the custom of bone-throwing at feasts. The 
explanation of this is probably that here, as in many other 
instances, the true significance of the events, viz. the 

* Especially as the reading of Grottas. is uncertain. 
C. « 



114 THE DANES 

struggle between Danes and Heathobeardan, had been 
forgotten, and it was therefore necessary to invent a new 
motivation for the story. The whole introduction of the 
wedding in connection with Agnar is probably due to con- 
fusion with his father Ingeld, for after Ingeld's marriage and 
its results it was extremely unlikely that Agnar would be 
on such terms with Hrolf as to make a similar experiment. 

The Identity of Froda the Heathobeard. 

Northern tradition knows many Frodis (Froda), in 
fact there is no more common name in the genealogies 
of the Danish royal family. We saw (p. 75) that the 
Grottas. (which is the earliest Scandinavian work dealing 
with these characters) has confused the Frodi (Froda) 
who is said to have killed Halfdan (Healfdene) with 
Frid-Frodi the peace-king, who is represented as living 
at the beginning of the Christian era, and whose reign 
symbolised the Golden Age of Denmark. But the figure 
of this peace-king has' undergone duplication in Scan- 
dinavian tradition ; besides the Frid-Frodi of the gold- 
mill (Grottas.), the genealogies have a much later Frodi 
surnamed "the Peaceful" (hinfri^sartii). It is to this later 
Frodi that Saxo attributes the peace (Frotho III of the 
great Frotho biography, pp. 121-171), while he represents 
the Frodi of the gold-mill as a viking king (Frotho I ; 
cf. Saxo, pp. 38-57). The story of Ingellus' (Ingeld's) 
revenge for his father is told by Saxo of neither of these, 
but of yet another Frodi (Frotho IV*, pp. 182-189). 

* Frotho IV is surnamed by Saxo largus ; by Sven Aagesen the 
same man is called frithgothae largus and appears as the peace-king ; 
so that here also there are reminiscences of the confusion between Frid- 
Frodi and Frodi (Froda) the murderer of Halfdan (Healfdene). 



THE DANES 115 

Now, everything that we hear of the Heathobeard 
Froda in the O.E. poems points to his having been a 
viking or sea-king, and in Widsith (1. 47) the Heatho- 
beardan army is directly called wicinga cyn. Neckel 
{Z. f, d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 184) indeed points out that 
Froda (Frodi) has become the centre of a group of viking 
sagas quite apart from his significance as the father of 
Ingeld. This viking king Frodi, surnamed " the Bold " 
{hin frjkm) and corresponding in character to the Froda 
of the O.E. poems, has in Saxo replaced Frict-Frodi of 
the gold-mill (cf Saxo, Bk ii) as the characteristic 
of Frid-Frodi has in the meantime been transferred 
to a later king, Frotho III ; thus we find in Scand. 
tradition only the most thorough-going confusion re- 
garding the identity of Froda the Heathobeard. The 
one thing certain is that he can have had originally 
nothing to do with the peace-king, i.e. Frid-Frodi. 
Neckel {Z.f. d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 185) believes that the 
confusion first arose from the surname hin fridsami 
having been added to Frid-Frodi in order to distin- 
guish this king from the viking Frodi hin fn/tkni. The 
double epithet, viz. Frid-FroWi hin fridJsami, thus 
led to a duplication of the figure of the peace-king*, 
in addition to the already existing Frodi hin frj>kni ! 
Then came the further confusion in character between 
the viking king and the peace-king, which is not so 
incomprehensible as it appears at first sight. For Saxo's 
conception of the peace-king is that of a great legislator : 

* Dr Olrik shows not only that the character of the same peace-king 
occurs twice in the genealogies, but that out of the long Danish 
genealogies of later date can be separated two parallel and partly corre- 
sponding groups, typical of the Heroic and the Viking Age of Denmark 
respectively (cf. Olrik, B. H. D. pp. 316-320). 

8—2 



116 THE DANES 

the viking Frodi (Froda) also gave his warriors laws : 
and not only has the viking king taken the place of the 
early Frict-Frocti in Saxo's history, but some of his laws 
have even been transferred to Saxo's Frotho III (cf. 
Necke], Z.f. d. A. Vol. XLViii, p. 185). 

It has been suggested that the Heathobeard Froda 
may be identical with the Frodi of Yngls. Ch. 27, who 
is described as a king of Denmark, and who fights against 
and kills King Ottar of Sweden. In support of this sug- 
gestion, it may be said that these two kings of the same 
name must have been more or less contemporaries, that 
they both seem to have been sea-kings, and that we do 
not know of any other Frodi (Froda) living at this time. 
There is unfortunately, however, not sufficient evidence 
on which to base a theory of their identity. 

SiGEHERE AND AlEVIH. 

In addition to the passage dealing with Hrothgar and 
Hrothulf, the Widsith contains two scanty references to 
early Danish kings, viz. 1. 28*: "Sigehere reigned for a 
very long time over the Sea-Danes," and 11. 35 tf.^f*: 
" Alevih ruled over the Danes : he was the bravest of 
all these men (i.e. of the kings named), but he did not 
exceed Offa in valour." 

A recent attempt to supply an historical background 
for the figures of Sigehere and Alevih has been made by 
Mr H. M. Chadwick in his book. The Origin of the English 

* 1. 28, Sigehere lengest Sae-Denum weold. 

t 11. 35 £f. 

Offa weold Ongle, Alevih Denum : 

se waes thara manna modgast ealra : 

no hwaethre he ofer Off an eorlscype fremede. 



THE DANES 117 

Nation (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1907), Ch. iv, p. 146, 
note on the Early Kings of the Danes. Sigehere is 
identified as usual with the Sigarus of Saxo, Bk vil : 
Mr Chadwick, however, by an interesting chain of evi- 
dence, shows that Sigehere in all probability ruled over 
the Danes previous to the middle of the fifth century, 
and consequently before Halfdan and his sons, whereas 
in Saxo he is introduced at a very much later period. 

The following are the main lines of Mr Chadwick's 
proof : — 

Sigarus' chief exploit was the slaying of Hagbard, 
the lover of his daughter Signy (Saxo, O.N. poetry) : this 
Hagbarct had a brother Haki, a sea-king who, according 
to Yngls. Ch. 23, fought against Jgrund, king of Sweden. 
In the genealogy of Fn^Zs., Jgrund occurs four generations 
earlier than Actils, the contemporary of Hrolf Kraki, 
and although some of the intervening kings are certainly 
mythical, there can be at least little doubt that Jgrund 
lived before and not after Adils. The story of Starkad 
points towards a similar conclusion, for this warrior as 
quite an old man {Beo. 11. 2041 ff.) is associated with 
Ingeld, while he says that he served King Haki in his 
earliest youth (Saxo, p. 214) ; and it is evident from the 
Beowulf and Widsiih that Ingeld was a contemporary of 
Hrothgar and Hrothulf 

A further clue to the probable date of Sigehere's reign 
is that Sigar (Sigehere), Haki, and Hagbard are intimately 
connected with Sigmund the Vglsung and his family in 
Northern poems and sagas ; the allusions which associate 
them with one another occur too often, and are too 
definite, to be considered the result of an accident. 
Sigmund and his family have usually been regarded as 



118 THE DANES 

fictitious, but there is nothing to show that the character 
of Sigmund was not historical : he is certainly brought 
into close relations with the historical' Gunnar (Gundi- 
carius, O.E. Guthere, mhg. Gunthhere) king of the 
Burgundians, who reigned between 400 and 437 A.D., 
a date which would correspond almost exactly to that 
which we have obtained from Sigehere from quite in- 
dependent evidence. 

The conclusion that Mr Chadwick comes to about 
Sigehere is best given in his own words : — " Now if 
Sigarr occupied the same throne as Hrothgar and 
Hrodwulf, as Saxo's account clearly indicates, it is 
plain from all that has been said that he must have 
been a predecessor of these kings. Further, since we 
have no valid reason for doubting that Healfdene was 
immediately succeeded by his sons, we may infer with 
the greatest probability that Sigarr preceded him also. 
On the other hand, if we are to believe Saxo's statement 
(p. 237) that Starkathr had come into contact with Sigarr, 
we shall have to suppose that this king lived until about 
the middle of the sixth century." 

Mr Chadwick makes a further attempt to identify 
Alevih — whose name is associated with that of Offa in 
Widsith (11. 35 ff.) — with Dan, who follows Offa in almost 
all Scandinavian genealogies* (cf Sv. Aag., Saxo, Langfotg., 
Flateyj.f). This identification turns largely, however, on 
the exact translation of the lines in Widsith (11. 35 ff.), 
where the names of Alevih and Offa occur side by side, 
and it is very doubtful whether there is enough evidence 

* A knowledge of the contents of Ch. iv on Offa will help to make 
clear the line of argument in this section. 

i Ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 1868, vol. i, p. 27. 



THE DANES 119 

to justify its acceptance, as the passage in question is 
exceedingly obscure. 

Mr Chadwick cites the genealogies mentioned above, 
in all of which Dan follows the king called variously Olaf 
or Uffo (= O.E. Offa) but is not said to have been his 
son. In a second genealogy from Flateyjarbok {Flat B.) 
Dan's name is omitted, and instead of Olaf the son of 
Vermund we find Olof the daughter of Vermund, and 
the mother of Frodi the Peaceful. Some explanation of 
this entry is afforded by Arngrim Jonsson's epitome of the 
lost Skjgldunga saga, Chs. 4-7, where it is said that Danus 
married Olufa, the daughter of Vermundus : the original 
tradition may have been that Dan was the brother-in-law 
and successor of Olaf (Uffo, Offa). Arngrim relates further 
that Dan at the beginning of his reign ruled only over 
Jutland, but that he later conquered Aleifus, king of 
Selandia, and ruled over the whole of Denmark, to which 
he gave its present name. Arngrim does not say who 
this Aleifus was, but the name is obviously identical with 
Olaf This being so there may be some ground for the 
identification of Alevih with Dan, and the very obscure 
passage in Widsith may contain a reference to the same 
event as that recorded in Skjglds. Ch. 4, viz. the conquest 
of Offa by Alevih. A fact which suggests the connection 
of Alevih with the royal family of Angel, quite indepen- 
dently of the above considerations, is that the name occurs 
at a much later date in the Mercian royal family which 
claimed descent from the Kings of Angel : the nephew of 
Penda is called Alwih (Alewih) : this would be explained 
by the supposition of Alewih's marriage with the sister 
of Olaf. 

A difficulty in accepting Dan as an historical character 



120 THE DANES 

is his position as eponymous and hence mythical ancestor 
of the Danish people in Skjglds. and elsewhere. But it is 
quite possible that the name Dane may only have come 
into use about this time, as there is no early evidence for 
its existence (cf. p. 62), and it is perhaps possible " that it 
was originally a local name, perhaps that of the place from 
which Alevih's family were sprung." 

If, however, we accept Mr Chad wick's suggestions as 
to the reigns of Sigehere and Alevih, we undoubtedly 
obtain results which add substantially to our knowledge 
of early Danish history. If Alevih be a contemporary of 
Offa, whose reign we are in a position to ascribe to the 
latter part of the fourth century (cf. inf. Ch. iv, on Offa), he 
may have lived well into the fifth century, for according to 
Yngls. Ch. 25, Dan lived to be an old man, although perhaps 
we cannot lay too much stress on this statement*. There 
can be but a short interval between him and Sigehere, 
who is said {Wids. 1. 28) to have reigned for a long time. 
Again the death of Sigehere must bring us nearly up to 
the reigns of Healfdene and his sons Halga and Hrothgar. 
We know from the Beowidf that Hrothgar was contem- 
porary with Hygelac, king of the Gotar, who was killed 
between 512 and 520 on a marauding expedition against 
the Franks, and previous to this expedition Hrothgar is 
spoken of as having reigned for a long time hund missera 
(cf. Beo. 1. 1769). Hrothgar was apparently succeeded on 
the Danish throne by his nephew Hrothulf (Hrolf Kraki), 
who reigned for some time. Hence if it is found possible 
to accept this reconstruction of early Danish history, we 
shall have succeeded in bridging over a period of about a 
hundred and fifty years, from the end of the fourth to 
^ Cf. Olrik, Aarh. f. nord. Oldkynd. 1894, p. 144 f. 



THE DANES 121 

the middle of the sixth century, the point at which all 
relations between England and the Scandinavian countries 
seem to have ceased, and for two hundred years after 
which Danish history is a blank. 



Heremod. 

Although Heremod cannot be identified with any 
known Danish king, there are no adequate grounds for 
denying his existence as an historical character. Here- 
mod is alluded to in Beowulf on two separate occasions 
(11. 901-915, 1709-1722), and the facts which emerge 
concerning him are shortly the following: — Heremod was 
king of the Scyldings — i.e. presumably the Danes; he 
had been at one time a great man, but subsequently there 
was a falling off in his strength and courage (11. 901 f.), 
and his pride and cruelty were notorious. He killed even 
his own warriors, and became a source of great wretched- 
ness to his people. He was betrayed into the hands of 
his enemies and expelled from his kingdom, to the sorrow 
of many who had hoped to see in him a deliverer, but 
had been disappointed. Subsequently his existence was 
a joyless and solitary one. 

In the first of the two Beowulf passages (11. 901-915), 
the fact that Heremod is brought into direct connection 
with Sigmund (11. 875-900 describe Sigmund's fight with 
the dragon) is significant as suggesting that Heremod is 
the person mentioned in Hyndluljo^J^ , V, 2. There it is 
said that Odin gave Heremod a helm and coat of mail, 
and Sigmund a sword. 

* Cf. supr. p. 16. 



122 THE DANES 

In Eiriksmdl^ (11. 15, 28), Sigmund and Sinfjgtli are 
represented as welcoming Eirik at the gates of Yalhall : 
in Hdkonarmdl (1. 38), which is more or less a copy of 
Eiriksmdl, the place of Sigmund and Sinfjgtli is taken by 
Hermod and Bragi. 

SCYLD SCEFING. 

Note. — This section on Scyld Scefing is entirely 
based on, and scarcely professes to be more than an 
abstract of, Mr Chadwick's most interesting chapter on 
"King Aethelwulfs Mythical Ancestors" in his recent 
book. The Origin of the English Nation. As the present 
work professes to deal only with the historical aspect of 
the traditions underlying the O.E. poems, the subject 
of Scyld lies, strictly speaking, outside its scope. It is 
to be hoped that all who are interested in the customs 
and rites, and in the wonderfully realistic mythology, of 
our primitive ancestors, will read Mr Chadwick's book for 
themselves. Of great interest is also Dr Olrik's chapter 
on Skjgld., which presents an altogether new view of the 
story {D. H. D. pp. 223-277). 

In Beowulf the genealogy of the Danish royal family 
is traced back to the eponymous ancestor of the Scyl- 
dungas, Scyld Scefing. The first fytte of the poem 
contains a panegyric on the reign of Scyld, and an 
account of the strange manner of his burial. '' Lo ! we 
have heard of the glory of the Spear Danes' warrior 
kings in days of yore — how the princes did valorous 
deeds ! Often Scyld Scefing took mead-benches away 
from troops of foes, from many tribes. The noble in- 

* Cf. swpr. p. 17. 



THE DANES 123 

spired awe from the time that he was first found helpless*: 
for that he met with consolation, increased under the 
heavens and throve in honours, until each one of those 
who sojourned near, across the whale's road, had to serve 
him and pay him tribute. A noble king was he I " 

(The next fourteen lines describe the reign of Scyld s 
son, Beowulf) 

" Then, at the fated hour, Scyld, full of exploits, de- 
parted to go into the keeping of the Lord : and they, his 
fast friends, carried him to the water's edge, as he himself 
had asked when he, protector of the Scyldings, governed 
by his behests ; — when, dear ruler of his country, he had 
long held sway. There, at the landing-place, the ring- 
prowed vessel stood : the prince's ship, sheeny and eager 
to start. They laid then the beloved chieftain, giver-out 
of rings, on the ship's bosom — the glorious hero by the 
mast. There were brought many treasures, ornaments 
from far-off lands. Never have I known a keel more 
fairly fitted out with war-weapons and battle-trappings, 
swords and coats of mail. Upon his breast lay many 
treasures which were to travel far with him, into the 
power of the flood. Certainly they furnished him with 
no less of gifts, of tribal-treasures, than those did who, 
in his early days, started him over the sea alone, child 
as he was. Moreover, they set besides a golden banner 
high above his head, and let the flood bear him — gave 
him to the sea. Their soul was sad, their spirit sorrowful. 
Who received that load, men, chiefs of councils, heroes 

* A better reading is with Sievers, egsode eorlas, with comma after 
ofteah. Translation then runs, "Often Scyld Scefing took mead-benches 
away from troops of foes, from many tribes ; he spread terror among the 
warriors from the time that he was first found helpless." 



124 THE DANES 

under heaven, cannot for certain tell*" (11. 1-11, 
26-52). 

The first part of the story — concerning the mysterious 
coming of Scyld — is only hinted at in Beowulf ^ viz. 11. 43- 
45, which have just been quoted. It is more fully pre- 
served in the chronicles of Aethelweard and William of 
Malmesbury, in both of which, however, the story is told 
not of Scyld, but of Sceaf. 

Aethelweard's account is as follows : — 

" This Scef came to land in a cutter on an island in 
the Ocean which is called Scani : he was surrounded by 
weapons, and was a very young child and was unknown 
to the inhabitants of that land : nevertheless he was taken 
up by them, and they watched over him with great care 
as over one of their own kin, and later on they chose him 
as their king*)-." 

According to Malmesbury the story runs thus : — 

" He (i.e. Sceaf), as they say, was brought as a young 
child in a boat without oars to Scandza, a certain island 
of Germania, which is spoken of by Jordanes the historian 
of the Goths. He was asleep, and a sheaf of corn was 
placed at his head : because of this he was given the 
name of Sceaf (O.E. sceaf = sheaf), and he was received 
as a marvel by the dwellers in that region and carefully 
nurtured; when he reached man's estate, he reigned 
in the town which was then called Slaswic, but now 

* Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, transl. into modern English 
prose by E. J. Clark Hall, M.A., Ph.D., London, 1901. 

t Aethelweard's Chronicle, Bk iii, Ch. 3 : Ipse Scef cum uno dromone 

advectus est in insula pceani quae dicitur Scani armis circumdatus, 

eratque ualde recens puer et ah incolis illius terrae ignotus ; attamen ab 

eis suscipitur, et ut familiarem diligenti animo eum custodierunt et post 

n regem eligunt. 



THE DANES 125 

Haithebi. Now that district is called Old Anglia, and 
is situated between the Saxons and the Goths ; the Angli 
came thence to Britain*." 

Neither of these accounts makes any reference to the 
latter half of the story which is given in the Beowulf 
passage (11. 28-52). 

The story of Sceaf occurs only in the two chronicles 
just quoted, but the genealogy is given also in the A.S. 
Chronicle, although owing to a scribal error the name of 
Sceaf has dropped out of the Parker MS. (S.)-j-. In the 
A.S. Chronicle Sceaf is represented as the son of Noah, and 
his is the first of the non-Biblical names. In William of 
Malmesbury and Aethelweard his name occurs nine genera- 
tions above Wodan, and ends Aethelweard's genealogy \. 

* Malmesbury, Gesta Reg. Angl. Bk ii, Ch. ii: Iste (Sceaf) ut 
quidam ferunt in quandam insulam Germaniae Scandzam de qua Jordanes 
historiographus Gothorum loquitur, appulsus naui sine remige puerulus, 
posito ad caput frumenti manipulo, dormiens, ideoque Sceaf nuncupatus, 
ab hominibus regionis illius pro miraculo exceptus et sedulo nutritus ; 
adulta aetate regnauit in oppido quod tunc Slaswic nunc uero Haithebi 
appellatur, est autem regio ilia Anglia Vetus dicta, unde Angli uenerunt 
in Britanniam, inter Saxones et Gothos constituta. 

t Another possible explanation of this circumstance is suggested by 
Prof. A. S.Napier, viz. that when the Parker MS. was written, Sceaf h&dL 
very possibly not yet been invented. 

X Subjoined are the portions in question of these genealogies : — 



A. 8. Chronicle. 


Malmesbury. 


Aethelweard. 


Taetwa Beawing 


Tetius 


Beo. 


Beaw Sceldwaing 


Beowius 


Scyld. 


Sceldwa Heremoding 


Sceldius 


Scef. 


Heremod Itermoning 


Sceaf 




Itermon H(r)athraing 


Heremodius 




Hathra Hwalaing 


Stermonius 




Hwala Bedwiging 


Hadra 




Bedwig Sceafing id ed filius Noe 


Gwala 

Bedwegius 

Strephius. 





126 THE DANES 

According to Beowulf, the first kings of Denmark were 
Scyld Scefing and his son Beowulf; the appearance of the 
forms Beo and Beowius in Aethelweard and Malmesbury 
respectively suggest that Beaw may be not a true West 
Saxon form, but due to dialectic peculiarity or scribal 
error, in which case it may correspond to the Danish king 
Beowulf of the poem. In the Beowulf the Danish king 
Beowulf is described as a popular and open-handed 
monarch : the only information which we possess about 
the Beo or Beaw of the O.E. genealogies is supplied by 
the Plantagenet Eoll in the Library of Trinity College, 
Cambridge, in which the descent of Henry VI is traced 
back to Adam. This genealogy shows several affinities 
with the forms used by Malmesbury, and in it the son of 
Sceldius appears as Boerinus which is apparently a cor- 
ruption of Malmesbury's Beowius. To this Boerinus are 
ascribed nine sons, from whom according to a note *' are 
descended nine nations which inhabited the North, and 
which once upon a time invaded and acquired the kingdom 
of Britain*." It is probable that the introduction of these 
nine sons is due to the influence of Scandinavian tradition, 
for in Flateyj. I, 25, and Skdldsk. Ch. 64, we find a 
parallel instance in the nine sons attributed to Halfdan 
the Oldf. It is to be noted further that the Plantagenet 
Roll contains the only information given by any of 
the genealogies about Sceldwea or Scyld in a note 
which says : " This Sceldius was the first inhabitant of 

* Ab istis novem filiis Boerini descenderunt novem gentes septen- 
trionalem inhabitantes qui quondam regnum Britanniae invaserunt et 
optinuerunt, viz. Saxones, Angli, luttii, Daci, Norwagenses, Gothi, 
Wandali, Geati et Frisi. 

t Cf. also Hyndl. v, 14-16. 



THE DANES 127 

Germany*." The names of Sceaf and Beowulf do not 
occur in any Scandinavian genealogy. In most cases 
Skjgld is represented as the son of Odin, but according 
to Saxo he is the son of Lotherusf. 

We have already seen that the story which is told of 
Sceaf in the chronicles of Aethelweard and William of 
Malraesbury is undoubtedly part of the same tradition as 
the account given in Beowulf (\l. 26-52) of Scyld Scefing. 
We have, therefore, to seek an explanation of why the 
story should be told in the one case of Scyld and in the 
other of Sceaf. 

It is impossible to suppose that the incident was 
originally told of Sceaf, and afterwards transferred to his 
son Scyld. For over and above the non-appearance of 
Sceaf in Scandinavian genealogies, and the note in the 
Plantagenet Roll in which it is said that Sceldius was the 
first inhabitant of Germany, we have the authority of the 
Beowulf which dates from several centuries earlier than 
Aethelweard and Malmesbury, and the terms in which the 
child Scyld is there described imply that his parentage 
was quite unknown. It is, therefore, impossible to regard 
the epithet Scefing as a patronymic, it must rather be 
taken to mean " child of the sheaf," and the expression is 
satisfactorily explained by William of Malmesbury 's version 
of the story, according to which the child Sceaf came to 
the island of Scandza in a boat with a sheaf of corn lying 
at his head. It is easy to understand how, later on, 

* Iste Sceldius primus inhabitator Germaniae. The same note occurs 
in a Paris MS. and is quoted by Kemble in the Preface to the Introduc- 
tion to his translation of the Beowulf. 

+ Cf. List of Genealogies in App. ii. Other important Scand. 
genealogies to which reference should be made are those of Sv. Aag. 
Skdldsk. and Lfd^g. 



128 THE DANES 

Scefing was mistaken for a patronymic in consequence of 
which the whole story was transferred to Sceaf the sup- 
posed father of Scyld, as it was manifestly absurd that the 
mysterious coming and departure of the unknown ruler 
should be ascribed to any but the founder of a race or 
dynasty. 

Dr Olrik opposes this explanation of Scefing on the 
ground that the sheaf only appears in a very late version 
of the story (Wm of Malmesbury) at an age when heroic 
traditions were dying out in England. Malmesbury's 
frumenti manipulus is, according to him, merely a found- 
ling motif introduced to account for the name of the hero^ 
and the Scefing of the Beowulf is a patronymic derived 
from Sceafa, king of the Langobards (cf. Wids. 32), whose 
presence in connection with Scyld is due to the English 
love of framing long genealogies ! 

But the introduction of the Langobard king into the 
story of Scyld is purely fanciful, and it is further most 
unlikely that the names Sceafa and Sceaf are the same*. 
Mr Chadw^ick has showed by a most interesting chain of 
evidence that the sheaf was not only an original element 
in the story of Scyld, but also that it was apparently a 
religious symbol among the heathen English by whom it 
was probably regarded as the manifestation of the corn 
deity (cf. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 277-281). 

There is no doubt that the O.E. Scyld, father and 
eponymous ancestor of the Scyldungas, corresponds to the 
Scandinavian Skj^ld, father and eponymous ancestor of the 
Skj^ldungar, although the characteristic facts related of 
Scyld in the O.E. poem are not recorded in Northern 
tradition. Skj^ld is said in Yngls, to have been the 

* Cf. Chadwick, op. cit. p. 282, note. 



THE DANES 129 

husband of Gefion the plough goddess, and this would 
explain his association with the sheaf which was the 
symbol of agriculture. 

The origin of the Scyld legend is very obscure, but all 
the available evidence goes to show that Scyld-Skjgld was 
not an historical but a mythical character, probably first 
invented to account for the existence of his descendants 
the Scyldungas-Skjgldungar. The word SkjgMungar 
(Scyldungas) may be taken to mean "people of the 
Shield." Dr Olrik regards the Skjgldungar as specifically 
the warrior class of the Danish nation, and Skjgld as the 
personification of the warlike qualities of that class 
(D. H. D. pp. 271 ff.). Mr Chad wick tends to believe, on 
the other hand, that the name Scyldungas-Skjgldungar 
implies the particular use of a shield by the people in 
question, perhaps in connection with a religious rite. He 
thinks that a sheaf and a shield together may have 
possibly been in the first instance the symbol of some 
deity, from which developed later the idea of the personi- 
fication of Skj^ld. 

The presence of the sea in the Scyld story is difiicult 
to account for: it is possible that it is due to the influence 
of a similar story told in the A.S. Runic poem about Ing, 
who is the mythical ancestor of the Ingvaeones, one of the 
groups of tribes into which Tacitus classifies the Germani 
(Tac. Germ. Ch. 2), The name Ingwine occurs frequently 
in Beowulf in such expressions as eodor Ingwina (1. 1044), 
frean Ingwina (1. 1319), &c., and is apparently always 
synonymous with Scyldungas. It seems on the whole 
probable that Scyld (Skjgld) was the successor of Ing as 
the putative ancestor and eponym of the Danish kings, 

c. 9 



130 THE DANES 

and that he has taken over some characteristics which 
originally belonged to his predecessor. 

There still remain for discussion Healfdene and 
Beowulf, who were, according to the Beowulf, the father 
and grandfather of Hrothgar respectively. 

Healfdene. 

Although little is said of Healfdene in the Beowulf 
there can be no doubt that he was an historical character, 
as the fact of his existence receives abundant testimony 
from Northern tradition. According to O.N. saga litera- 
ture Halfdan (Healfdene) is commonly supposed to have 
fallen a prey to the jealousy of his brother Frodi. But 
in Yngls. Ch. 25 we find the statements that Halfdan 
deposed the Swedish king Ann, reigned in Upsala in his 
stead, and died and was buried there. As these two 
accounts are clearly incompatible with each other the 
only alternative to rejecting one of them is the existence 
of two Halfdans, both kings of Denmark and both more or 
less contemporary with each other. In Arngrim Jonsson's 
extract from Skjgldungasaga we do find two Halfdans 
(Halfdanus), but the first is merely a name, and it is clear 
from a comparison with other sources that this part of the 
genealogy has been duplicated (either by Arngrim or) by 
the author of the Skjgldungasaga. The second Halfdan 
(Halfdanus, of Skjgldungasaga corresponds in position to 
the Healfdene of the O.E. poems : his father is Frodi 
(Frodo) who conquers the Swedish king Jgrund (Jorundus) 
and exacts tribute from the country (vid. sup. p. 77) : 
Frodi also takes as a prisoner of war Jgrund's daughter, 
who becomes the mother of Halfdan (Arngr. Jonss. Skjglds. 



THE DANES 131 

Ch. 9). These circumstances of his father's conquest and 
his own birth might well be thought by Halfdan, when 
he was grown up, to constitute a claim to the Swedish 
throne. 

Saxo offers us in his Danish history a choice of four 
Halfdan s : of these, the first, who is the father of Roe 
(Hrothgar) and Helgo (Halga), is only a lay figure and 
need not be further considered, as his personality is 
probably to be looked for in one of the late kings of the 
same name. Now of these three Halfdans, two are ob- 
viously the same (cf Saxo, Bk vii, pp. 216-224, 241-247): 
they are brought into contact with the same characters, 
perform the same exploits (for which one gains the name 
of "Biargramm"), hoth are said to have been victorious over 
the Swedes, while the first actually became king of Sweden. 
It is said of the first that he died childless, while the 
second fell in battle. 

The remaining Halfdan of Saxo is represented as the 
son of Eric Malspaki, the brother-in-law of Frotho III, the 
peace-king, and as a king of Sweden (cf. Saxo, Bk VI, 
pp. 173, 189), but in this capacity no further information 
is given about him. 

The double figure of Halfdan Biargramm occurs in 
Saxo very much later than do Bo and Hrolf Kraki, but 
Saxo's chronology is thoroughly untrustworthy, as we 
have already seen more than once. According to Arngr. 
Jonsson's Skjglds. Ch. 10, Halfdan's wife and the mother 
of Hroar and Helgi (Hrothgar and Halga) was Sigrid 
(Sigrida) (cf. p. 78). In Saxo, Bk vil, just as there are 
two Halfdans so are there two Sigrids (Syritha), also ap- 
parently the duplication of one character. Both are near 
relations of king Sigar (Sigehere) and Halfdan is brought 

9—2 



132 THE DANES 

into intimate connection with the first, for although he is 
not said to have married her himself, he interposed to 
prevent her marriage with a low-born suitor during the 
actual course of the wedding ceremony*. This association 
in Saxo of Halfdan Biargram (Haldanus Biargrammus) 
and Sigrid (Syritha) taken with the statement of Skjglds. 
Ch. 10, that Halfdan married Sigrid, and the date which 
w^e have already found for Sigar (Sigehere) and his family 
(cf p. 118), suggests that the whole incident has been 
transferred by Saxo to a date much later than that at 
which it really took place. In that case Halfdan 
(Halfdanus) of Skjglds. Ch. 10, the father of Ro (Roas) 
and Helgi (Helgo), is identical with Halfdan Biargram m 
(Haldanus Biargrammus) of Saxo, Bk vii, and in the latter 
we find the real personality of the Halfdan of Bk ii 
(Haldanus, father of Roe and Helgo), who, as we have 
seen, is little more than a name. Halfdan Biargramm's 
(Haldanus Biargrammus') relations with Sweden are 
further just what we should expect from the account 
of Halfdan's origin contained in Skjglds. (Ch. 9) ; and 
both authorities agree so well with the narrative of 
Yngls. Ch. 25f that it can scarcely be doubted that the 
Halfdan there referred to is the same person, viz. the 
father of Ro and Helgi |. Thus the conclusion which we 
have reached is that at the time with which we are 

* It is worth noting that Halfdan Biargramm II who married Guritha 
(this form may well be a corruption of Syritha), the grand-daughter of 
Sigar(us) (Saxo, pp. 245 ff.), only gained his bride by entering and killing 
a rival suitor during the marriage feast. 

t See p. 69. 

:J: Although it is not actually stated, this is the natural inference from 
Yngls. 29, where Helgi is said to be the son of Halfdan, as the Halfdan. 
of ib. 25 is the only king of that name previously mentioned. 



THE DANES 133 

dealing there was only one king Halfdan reigning in 
Denmark, who was the father of Hroar (Ro) and Helgi, 
and who, therefore, corresponds to the Healfdene oi Beowulf , 
the father of Hrothgar and Halga ; it is very possible that 
the Halfdan (Haldanus) represented by Saxo as king of 
Sweden may be merely another aspect of the same 
character. We are, therefore, confronted by the obscure 
if not insoluble question of the conflicting evidence re- 
garding this king, especially the manner of his death ; to 
this we shall have to return later. 

If the claim of a Danish king to the throne of Sweden, 
and the temporary realisation of this claim during Halfdan's 
reign, can be accepted as facts, we at once obtain results 
of historical value, for an explanation is offered of the 
mysterious relations of the Danish kings with Upsala 
during the period which we are considering (cf sup. p. 89). 
If Helgi and Hrolf Kraki claimed the throne or, as is 
perhaps more likely — the over-lordship of Sweden, by right 
of descent from a king who had conquered the Swedes, 
viz. Frodi (Skjglds. Ch. 9), or Halfdan (Yngls. Ch. 25), we 
need seek no further for the motive of the various expe- 
ditions of these Danish kings to Upsala and the covertly 
hostile attitude of Adils towards them : their incentive 
would be all the stronger if Halfdan's body lay buried at 
Upsala, which was a possibility (Yngls. Ch. 25). From this 
point of view the marriage of Halfdan's (Healfdene's) 
daughter to Ali (Onela), a king of the conquered country, 
acquires political significance ; such marriages of a con- 
quered king with the daughter of the conqueror were 
common (cf. Ingeld and Freawaru), and in this way Halfdan 
(Healfdene) would hope both to bring hostilities to an end 
and to confirm his suzerainty over the vanquished nation. 



134 the danes 

Beowulf. 

According to the Beowulf, the father of Healfdene was 
named Beowulf This person as we saw (p. 126) is perhaps 
identical with the Beowius of Malmesbury and the Boerinus 
of the Plantagenet Roll. According to the practically 
unanimous testimony of Scandinavian tradition the father 
of Halfdan was Frodi*, and where obvious repetition or 
confusion with Frocti the father of Ingiald (Ingeld) has 
not taken place, this Frodi usually represents the second 
of the peace-kings, hin fridsami. As the two peace- 
kings were originally without doubt one and the same 
person f it is possible that Halfdan's father was in reality 
the king known in Northern tradition as Frict-Frodi, 
who owed his name to the peace and prosperity which 
marked his reign. In any case the father of Halfdan 
certainly must have been an entirely different personality 
from Frodi (O.E. Froda) the Heathobeard, the father of 
Ingjald (O.E. Ingeld) and a viking king (hin fr^kni). 

Common to all Old Icelandic literature is a tradition 
that a certain King Frodi was guilty of an exceptionally 
dastardly crime — probably fratricide — and it is difficult to 
believe that a belief so widespread had not any founda- 
tion in fact. In Grottas. this crime is attributed to 
Frid-Frodi, which is usually considered to be due to 

* It is, however, to be observed that the nine sons attributed to 
Halfdan the Old in Skdldsk. Ch. 64, and Flateyj. i, 25, all of whom were 
founders of famous dynasties, form a curious parallel to the nine sons 
attributed to Boerinus in the Trinity College Library KoU (cf. sup. p. 126) 
and suggest that there is some ground for connecting Boerinus with 
Halfdan. 

t Olrik, D. H. D. pp. 316-320; Z.f. d. A. xlviii, p. 185; cf. also supr. 
p. 114. 



THE DANES 135 

confusion. But it is not inconceivable that Grottas. may 
be correct, and that Frid-Frocti's reign was marred by 
the murder of his brother (Ali as in Arngrim's SkJQlds. ?). 
For the confusion between Frid-Frodi and Frodi 
(O.E. Froda) the viking king {hin fr^kni) and the father 
of Ingjald (lugeld) has been already discussed, and as the 
latter was known to have been at war with Halfdan's 
(Healfdene's) family, it is easy to see how his influence 
might lead to the substitution of Halfdan's name for that 
of Ali as the murdered brother of Frid-Frodi. If these 
suggestions, which are, it must be admitted, of a somewhat 
hypothetical nature, could be substantiated, there would 
be no longer any difficulty in accepting the statement of 
Yngls. Ch. 25, that Halfdan (Healfdene) died and was 
buried at Upsala. 

The main difficulty in regarding Frid-Frodi as the 
father of the Healfdene (Halfdan) of the O.E. poems is 
that his reign will then come into conflict with the dates 
which we have found for Sigar (Sigehere). As we saw 
(p. 118) Sigar must have been alive about the middle of 
the fifth century, and at the beginning of the sixth century 
Hrothgar had been reigning for a long time (Beo. 1. 1769). 
Thus the intervening space is barely enough to cover the 
reigns of the two kings Frid-Fro^i (?) and Halfdan, the 
first of which must by implication have been of consider- 
able length, even although we accept the statement of 
Yngls. Ch. 25 that Halfdan reigned for several years not 
in Denmark but in Upsala. 

On the other hand, Halfdan's father, whoever he was, 
was certainly not Sigar, and it is quite possible that he 
may have been a king contemporary with Sigar, but 
reigning in a different part of the country. Tradition 



186 THE DANES 

connects Frid-Frodi with Jutland*, while Sigar is 
associated with Sjaellandf. 

This seems the most satisfactory solution of the diffi- 
culty and removes the only serious obstacle towards 
identifying the Danish king Beowulf of the O.E. poem 
with the peace-king Frodi of Northern tradition. This 
identification in the nature of things can be at present 
only hypothetical, but it is to be hoped that before long 
some fresh evidence may come to light which will convert 
the hypothesis into a certainty. 

The Ring Sviagris. 

The ring Sviagris is very often mentioned in the ac- 
counts of the dealings between Halfdan's (Healfdene's) 
family and the Swedish kings. It is described as a gold 
"ringj" (Skdldsk. Ch. 44) (the heavy necklace referred 
to by Saxo, p. 55, is doubtless the same jewel), and all 
sources lay stress on its great value. 

According to Skdldsk. Ch. 44, Sviagris was one of the 
treasures for which Hrolf stipulated as the acknowledg- 
ment of his assistance rendered to Adils against Ali, 
" King of Uppland " (Onela), and to obtain which, owing 
to Adils' subsequent refusal to give them up, Hrolf 
undertook his expedition to Upsala. There is no need 
to repeat the part played by Sviagris in the Danes' flight 
to Fyrisvellir except to emphasize the fact that it alone 
availed to check Adils' pursuit, as his desire to regain it 
was even keener than his hatred of his enemy Hrolf. It 

* Skdldsk. Ch. 43, Saxo, p. 169, Skjglds. Ch. 3. 
t Saxo, p. 228. 

X In Old Icelandic hringr was a generic term for any gem which was 
circular in form, viz. ring, bracelet or necklace. 



THE DANES 137 

is to be observed, however, that while Skdldsk. affirms 
Sviagris to have been an heirloom in Actils' family* 
Arngrim's Skjglds.f says quite distinctly that it be- 
longed to Hrolf, and that his forefathers had won it 
in battle J. 

In Hrolfss. Chs. 7, 8, we find an account of a very 
precious ring which was the property of King Helgi, but 
which is not specified by name. It passed from him into 
the hands of his brother Hroar who coveted its possession, 
but from whom it was stolen at the instigation of his sister 
Signy. Bjarkarimur contains the same story of the theft 
of a ring from Hroar, and here we are told that the ring 
was no other than the famous Sviagris. Hrolf Kraki 
afterwards obtained possession of it, and "sent it to his 
mother." If any value is to be attached to the suggestion 
that Hrolfs mother was Helgi's sister and the wife of 
Onela (cf. Beo. 1. 62 and sup. p. 89), it seems possible 
that Sviagris may have been in the hands of Onela at 
some time — perhaps up to his defeat by Adils on Lake 
Wener. 

The fact that Sviagris was such a coveted possession 
suggests that there was attached to it some very special 
significance, quite apart from its intrinsic value. The word 
means " sucking pig of the Swedes." Now the pig appears 
to have been an animal sacred to the Swedish kings§, 

* Skdldsk. Ch. 44 : " Sviagris, er att bgfctu langfeSgar Adils." 

t Arngr. Jonss. Skjglds. Ch. 12 (repr. Aarb.f. n. Oldk. 1894) : "Quod 
cemens Danus, Adilsum nummulis aureis non inescari, promit annulum 
ingentis pretii, quern majores ipsius praedae loco a devictis olim Sveciae 
regibus reportarant, eumque Adilso obviam projecit." 

X In the Skjqlds. the motivation of the whole incident is somewhat 
different. Hrolf has the ring with him when he goes to Upsala. 

§ Ghadwick, op. cit. p. 248 f. 



138 THE DANES 

probably from its association with Frey (or Freyja) the 
deity from whom they traced their descent. It is tempt- 
ing to believe that this "ring" Sviagris was some religious 
symbol — perhaps even the emblem of royalty of the 
Swedish kings. If this were so it would be easy to 
understand both Hrolfs claim to it, on account of the 
conquests of his grandfather Halfdan, and the eagerness 
of the Swedish tributary kings first to regain it, then to 
keep it from each other, and from their common enemy 
the king of Denmark. 



IV. Summary of Evidence on Danish Tradition in 

THE light of its HISTORICAL VaLUE. 

It will now be well to summarize briefly the results 
which we have obtained from the foregoing investigation 
of Danish tradition regarding the persons and events 
mentioned in the O.E. poems. 

As has been already noticed the Danes are not found 
mentioned by name before the sixth century, although 
there can be no reasonable doubt that they existed as a 
nation from very much earlier times. The Danish king- 
dom appears to have been originally insular, and to have 
thence spread to the mainland of Jutland, although it is 
difficult to say when this movement of national expansion 
first began. If we can accept the very probable con- 
jecture of Mr Chadwick, that the Dan of Skjglds. who 

o 

conquered Aleifus (= Olaf = Uflfo or Offa, king of Angel, 
cf. Ch. iv), is identical with the doubtless historical 
Alevih, who is associated with Ofifa in Widsith, we shall 
have some evidence for the presence of Danes on the 



THE DANES 139 

mainland in the end of the fourth or beginning of the 
fifth century*. 

The appearance of Alevih in the guise of Dan the 
eponymous ancestor of the Danish people, might be 
accounted for by the possibility that the name Dane 
itself only came into use about this time: and against the 
common acceptation of all eponymous ancestors as neces- 
sarily mythical, speaks in this case the circumstance that 
no attempt is made to represent Dan as the head of the 
dynasty from which the Danish kings trace their descent : 
he appears in most genealogies six or seven generations 
below Odin and Skjgldf. 

We take then as a starting point the reign of 
Alevih -Dan which is probably to be dated in the first 
quarter of the fifth century: thus the period of Danish 
history which falls under our consideration consists 
approximately of the fifth and the first half of the 
sixth centur}^ after which all evidence of communication 
between England and the Baltic countries ceases for 
about two hundred years. 

To the first half of the fifth century must belong, as 
we saw, the reign of Sigar (Sigehere) which apparently 
lasted till c. 450 (cf p. 118). There is also some ground 

* Hnaef, of the Finn episode in Beoivulf, who appears to have been 
a Jute, is described as the officer of Healfdene {Beo. 1. 1069), and his men 
are called Danes (1. 1090). This would be indirect evidence of the 
presence of Danes on the mainland in the middle of the fifth century. 
This point will be made clearer when we come to discuss the chronology 
of the Finn episode (cf. Ch. v). 

t Although the second name in Saxo's genealogy is that of Dan, who 
is apparently regarded as the eponymous ancestor of the Danes, it is to 
be noted that the Dan who succeeds Uffo, and who, therefore, corresponds 
to the Dan of the Skjgldungasaga, at present under discussion, occurs 
seventeen generations from the head of the genealogy. 



140 THE DANES 

for believing that the reign of the Frodi, known in 
Danish tradition as the great peace-king, covered the 
middle years of the fifth century, perhaps partly over- 
lapping with that of Sigar. This last assumption presents 
no serious difficulties, for not only are the names of these 
two kings associated with entirely different localities 
(cf. p. 136), but there is every evidence that Denmark 
was at this time not yet a united kingdom under one 
monarch. We can discern throughout this period a 
constant fierce struggle for supremacy between king and 
king, and tribe and tribe, in which the Danes finally 
gained the upper hand (absorbing some of their enemies 
and reducing others to the position of tributary states), 
but which lasted at any rate until the days of Hrolf 
Kraki. 

There seems no reason to doubt that Healfdene, 
Hrothgar, Halga, Hrothulf are all historical, and that 
they all ruled as kings of the Danes. Healfdene 
(Halfdan) was, according to the Beowulf, the son of 
Beowulf, king of the Danes. This person is altogether 
unknown in Scandinavian tradition, but it is not im- 
possible that he may be identical with the peace-king 
Frocti (cf p. 135 f). Hrothgar (Ro, Hroar) and Halga 
(Helgi) were brothers, the sons of Healfdene (Halfdan), 
and Hrothulf (Hrolf) was almost certainly the son of 
Halga (Helgi). The presence of, and the part played by 
Higrvard (Heoroweard) in Northern tradition, seems to 
lend colour to the belief that he and his father Heorogar 
(who was according to the Beoivulf the elder brother of 
Hrothgar and Halga) are also historical characters. Ro and 
Hrolf Kraki (= Hrothgar and Hrothulf) were apparently 
for a time joint kings of Denmark in Leire, and Helgi 



THE DANES . 141 

(Halga) while he lived seems to have been a sea-king*. 
After Ro's death, Hrolf Kraki continued to reign, as sole 
king of the Danes. All authorities lay stress on the 
unusually amicable dispositions of Ro and Hrolf, and the 
friendly relations which existed between them. Whereas 
most countries which had more than one king were in a 
state of constant war, owing to the rival claims and 
jealousies of their different rulers, Ro and Hrolf occupied 
the same throne for many years, at peace with one 
another, so that their reign was a time of unprecedented 
prosperity for Denmark. According to Scandinavian 
tradition Hrolf Kraki was indeed the King Arthur of 
the North, whose court was the meeting-place for all the 
greatest warriors then living. His castle of Loire 
(Hleidrgardr), which is probably represented by the 
Heorot of the Beowulf, was the traditional seat of the 
Danish kings from the earliest times^ 

Close relations, although superficially of a mysterious 
nature, seem to have existed between Denmark and 
Sweden during this period, but there are indications of a 
satisfactory explanation in the view commonly expressed 
by Northern authorities, that Denmark held suzerainty 
over Sweden from the time of Halfdan (or perhaps from 
that of his father Frodi) onwards. Such a state of affairs 
would account for the constant visits — either of a covertly 
or of a directly hostile nature — made by Danish kings to 

* Although all Northern kings of this early age were in a sense sea- 
kings it is necessary to distinguish between those — if for the sake of 
clearness we may call them so — " land-kings " like Eo and Hrolf Kraki, 
who only used the sea as their highway, and the sea-kings proper, who 
had no landed possessions but who, like Helgi, regarded the sea as their 
only realm, and spent their whole lives in viking cruises. Cf. alsa 
Snorri in Yngls. Ch. 29, supr. p. 72. 



142 THE DANES 

Upsala during this time, and in particular would seem to 
offer the best solution of the mystery surrounding Hrolf 
Kraki's famous expedition to the Swedish court. In this 
connection, it may further be said that there does not 
seem any reason to discredit the part played by Yrsa in 
Northern tradition as mother of Hrolf Kraki and after- 
wards wife of Actils. I am inclined to believe further 
that Yrsa is identical with the person whose name is 
omitted in Beo. 1. 62, that she was the sister rather than 
the daughter of Helgi, and was the wife of Ali (Onela) 
previous to her marriage with Adils. 

The fact that Bg^Jvar of Gautland '(Gotland) was in 
the service of Hrolf Kraki, taken with the evidence of the 
Beowulf that Beowulf reigned over the Geatas, is perhaps 
an additional proof of the over-lordship of Hrolf Kraki in 
the southern part of Scandinavia. 

We may accept as historical the chief events of the 
Heathobeard struggle, which apparently flickered on 
fitfully for two or three generations, ending in the incor- 
poration of the Heathobeards with the Danish nation. In 
the present conflicting state of evidence there can be no 
certainty as to the circumstances attending the death of 
King Halfdan, but the crushing defeat inflicted by the 
Danes on the Heathobeards, involving the death of their 
king Froda (Frodi), the marriage of Ingeld (Ingjald) to 
Hrothgar's (Hroar's) daughter Freawaru, Ingeld's sub- 
sequent revenge for his father's death at the instigation 
of the old warrior, and the burning down of Heorot at his 
hands, have all a strong claim to be regarded as historical. 
Appearances seem to point further to the fall of Hrothgar 
(Hroar) in battle against the Heathobeards, possibly on 
the same occasion as that on which Heorot was burnt 



THE DANES 143 

down, although there is no direct evidence in confirmation 
of this. Forming a link between the age of Hroar 
(Hrothgar) and Hrolf (Hrothulf) and the earlier times of 
Sigar and his contemporaries, stands the figure of StarkadT 
— the eald aescwiga of Beo. 1. 2042 — who grew old in 
his armour, and served under many kings of different 
nationalities, notably (for us) under the Heathobeard 
Froda (Frodi) and his son Ingeld (Ingjald)*. 

It is possible that Hroar (Hrothgar) left a son Roric 
(Hrethric) who attempted to set up a claim to the throne 
against Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf), but who was speedily 
crushed by his powerful cousin ; but this view is to be 
accepted with reservations, as it is not supported by 
any substantial evidence. Very probably Hrolf Kraki 
(Hrothulf) fell at the hands of Higrvard (Heoroweard) in 
an attempt made by the latter to assert his prior claim to 
the Danish throne ; whether that event is accurately 
represented by the accounts of Saxo and others and of 
the Hrolfss. there is, however, considerable reason to 
doubt (cf. inf. Ch. ill, p. 154). 

It is now possible — and will be, for the sake of clear- 
ness, convenient — to collect in tabular form the chief 
results which we have obtained. We have found cause 
to believe that the O.E. heroic poems, and, to a certain 
extent, Scandinavian poems, sagas and chronicles of a 
later time, preserve much genuine historical information 
about the leading persons and events of Danish history 
in early times, and particularly in the fifth and first half 
of the sixth century. The kings who appear to have 
flourished during this period — ^and whose actual existence 
a nearer study of the sources makes more and more 

* For further information about this character cf. Chadwick, op. cit. 
p. 149 and note. 



144 THE DANES 

probable — taken as far as possible in chronological order^ 
with hypothetical dates, are the following: 

Alevih (Dan). End of fourth and beginning of fifth 

centur\'. 
Sigar (Sigehere). First half of fifth century till c. 450 

(perhaps reigning only in Sjaelland). 
Frodi — The peace-king — middle years of the fifth 

century (perhaps reigning only in Jutland) 

= Beowulf, Danish king mentioned in Beo. 11. 53 ff. ? 
Halfdan (Healfdene). Before c. 475. 
[Helgi (Halga), sea-king in latter half of fifth century.] 
Hroar (Hrothgar), c. 475 — c. 570. 
[Rorik (Hrethric) ?] 
Hrolf Kraki (Hrothulf), joint king with Hroar and 

succeeding him — c. 550. 
Higrvard (Heoroweard) ? reigned for a short time. 

Thus all the Danish kings mentioned in the Beowulf 
and Widsith are accounted for with the exception of 
Scyld Scefing and Heremod. The former cannot be con- 
sidered as other than mythical, and therefore does not 
concern us further. There has also been a common 
tendency to regard Heremod as mythical, owing to the 
absence of any known historical background for his 
figure. But this decision is a somewhat arbitrary one. 
It is true that Heremod's identity is wrapped in obscurity, 
but the circumstantial detail with which he is described 
in the Beowulf implies that he had at one time been a 
well-known personality, and is certainly in favour of his 
existence as an historical character, probably as a king in 
Danish lands. The way in which he is associated with 
Sigmund suggests that Heremod is perhaps to be assigned 
to the first half of the fifth century (cf. p. 122). 



CHAPTER III 

THE SWEDES. 

The Swedes (Svear) are also called in A.S. Scylfingas 
{Beo. 1. 2381), in Scand. (O.N. saga lit.) Ynglingar. 

The relationships of the Swedish royal family in 
Beowulf are as follows : 

Ongentheow 



Onela Ohthere 



I 1 

Eanmund Eadgils 

In 1. 2603 Wiglaf is spoken of as leod Scylfinga ; again 
in 1. 2813, Beowulf, addressing Wiglaf, speaks of usses 
cynnes Waegmundinga, where he clearly classes himself 
along with his hearer : this would seem to show that both 
Beowulf and Wiglaf claimed descent from a man named 
Waegmund, and the epithet leod Scylfinga as applied to 
Wiglaf has been supposed to signify some relationship 
between the Swedish royal family and the house of the 
Waegmundings (cf. Mullenhoff, Anz.f. d. A. iii, pp. 176- 
178). 

c. 10 



146 THE SWEDES 

On these lines the following hypothetical genealogy 
has been constructed: 

Scylf 

r -1 

Waegmund Ongentheow 

r L n I ^ -1 

Ecgtheow Weohstan Onela Ohthere 

' I, I 
Beowulf Wiglaf i ' , 

Eanmund Eadgils 

Nor must it be forgotten, as bearing upon the hypotheti- 
cal character of the above table, that there is considerable 
uncertainty as to the exact meaning of hod Scylfinga, for 
which there are other possible interpretations besides 
" prince of the Scylfings." 



I. The Swedes in Beowulf. 

In the scattered references to the Swedes which are 
made in the Beowulf, the fortunes of this people are 
closely bound up with those of their neighbours the 
Gotar, and for an account of the campaign between Ongen- 
theow, king of Sweden, and Haethcyn and Hygelac, the 
princes of the Gotar, the reader is referred to Chap. I, p. 26 f. 

Ongentheow was apparently succeeded on the Swedish 
throne by his son Onela, who seems to have married the 
only daughter of King Healfdene of the Danes (Beo. 1. 62). 

Onela's nephews, Eanmund and Eadgils, the sons of 
his brother Ohthere, rebelled and were banished from the 
kingdom ; they fled to the court of Heardred, the young 
king of the Geatas (Hygelac, his father, having meanwhile 
perished in the hapless expedition against the Franks), 
where they found protection and kindness (11. 2379 ff.). 
They were, however, followed by Onela, who attacked and 



THE SWEDES 147 

killed Heardred (1. 2388) ; probably in the course of the 
same campaign Eanmund was slain by Weohstan, who 
seems to have been in Onela's service. 

Weohstan deprived the dead warrior of his helm, 
sword and coat of mail, and laid them at the feet of 
Onela, who returned them to him as a gift. After many 
years Weohstan bequeathed these trophies to his son 
Wiglaf, Beowulf's faithful follower (11. 2609-2625). 

Onela returned to Sweden victorious (1. 2389 f.) : after 
a time Eadgils, supported by Beowulf, now king of the 
Geatas, made an expedition to Sweden against his uncle 
{he gewraec syththan cealdum cear-sithum). The enter- 
prise was successful : Eadgils defeated and killed Onela, 
and reigned as king of Sweden in his stead (11. 2391-2396). 

II. (1) References to the Swedes in Latin 

Historians. 
Tacitus. 

Jordanes (Migne, Patrologia, I, 69). 
Saxo Grammaticus (ed. Holder ; Bks i-ix, English 
transl. by 0. Elton, London, 1894). 

(2) References to the Swedes in Scandinavian 

Authorities. 

Hrolfssagakraka, Fas. i, pp. 1 fif. 

Skdldskapermdl (Sn. Edd. ed. Wilken, Paderborn, 1877, 
pp. 101 ff.) 

Bjarkarimur. 

St Olafssaga, Ynglingasaga (Heimskr.). 

Skjglds. (Arngr. Jonss., Aarb. f. nord. Oldkynd. 1894, 
pp. 83 ff.). 

10—2 



148 THE SWEDES 

Tacitus, Germ. Ch. XLiv *. The earliest reference 
to the Swedes is by Tacitus (Germ. Ch. XLiv) who wrote at 
the end of the first century ; he mentions the Suiones as 
having a curious, despotic form of government, and says 
further that they had fleets and lived in the ocean, i.e. in 
islands. 

Jordanesf says that the Suethans like the Thuringians 
used the best horses. 

It is impossible, in dealing with Scandinavian authori- 
ties, to separate from one another the extracts dealing 
with the Swedes and the Danes, and an account of the 
relations between these two nations during the period 
under our consideration has already been given in Chap. II, 
to which the reader is referred. Two extracts from the 
Ynglingasaga, which are of exclusively Swedish interest^ 
are here given : 

Ch. XXVIII. The Marriage of King Ad:ils. "Adils 
was the name of Ottar's son, w^ho took the kingdom after 
him : he was king for a long time, and was very wealthy, 
and some summers he went on viking expeditions {i 
viking). King Adils came with his army to Saxland, 
over which ruled a king named Geirdjof, while his 
wife was called Alof the mighty : there is no mention of 
their having had children. The king was not in the 

* Tacitus, Germania, Ch. xliii : " Trans Lugios Gotones regnantur, 
paulo iam adductius quam ceterae Germanorum gentes, nondum tamen 
supra libertatem, protinus deinde ab Oceano Eugii et Lemovii : 
omniumque harum gentium insigne rotunda scuta, breves gladii et erga 
reges obsequium." 

Ch. XLIV. " Suionum hinc civitates ipso in Oceano, praeter vires 
armaque classibus valent, forma navium eo differt quod utrimque prora 
paratam semper adpulsui frontem agit." 

+ Jordanes, Get. iii : "lAlia vero gens ibi moratur Suethans, quae 
velut Thuringi equis utuntur eximiis." 



THE SWEDES 149 

country. King Adils and his men plundered there : 
some drove down herds to slaughter on the strand. 
Slaves, both men and women, had tended the flocks, and 
all of these they took with them. Amongst the company 
was a maiden, wondrously beautiful : her name was Yrsa. 
King Adils took her home with the rest of his booty. 
Yrsa was not put with the other bondwomen. It was 
soon clear that she was wise and learned, and shrewd in all 
respects. She was much admired and chiefly by the king ; 
thus it came about that Adils made her his wife. Then 
Yrsa was queen of Sweden and was eminent among women." 
Ch. XXIX (last part of chapter). " King Adils was 
very fond of good horses : he had the best horses of that 
time. One horse of his was called Slgngvir, and another 
Hrafn, which he took from the dead King Ali. And of 
it was born another horse called Hrafn which he sent to 
Heligoland to King Godgest. King Godgest rode it and 
could not pull it up, until he fell off its back and was 
killed : that was at Omd in Heligoland. King Adils was 
at the sacrifice to the disir and was riding his horse 
round the temple of the disir : the horse stumbled and 
fell, and the king was thrown, and his head came against a 
stone, so that the skull was broken and his brains lay on 
the stones. That was his death. Adils died at Upsala and 
is buried there. The Sviar called him the powerful king." 

III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to the 

Swedes. 

Several points relating to Swedish tradition have 
already been discussed in connection with the subject of 
the preceding chapter, particularly the story of Yrsa. 



150 THE SWEDES 

Generally speaking, the accounts of Skdldsk., Hrolfss. 
and Saxo vary only in points of detail with regard to the 
period of Swedish history with which we are dealing (i.e. 
the period corresponding to the events described in 
Beowulf), the general outline of the story being the same 
in all three cases as far as Aclils is concerned. In the 
Yngls. a somewhat different aspect is imparted to the 
story. Some points which are of minor importance in 
the other are omitted altogether. The campaigns of 
Ottar and Frocti for example, which are described in 
Yngls. at comparative leogth, are not mentioned in any 
of the other authorities with which we have been dealing; 
whereas Hrolf Kraki's visit to Sweden, on which so much 
stress is usually laid, is here passed over with the barest 
mention. 

A point on which different authorities are considerably 
at variance is that of the genealogy of the Swedish kings. 
No genealogy of Swedish kings is given in Hrolfss. and 
Skdldsk., but according to Saxo, Adils (Athislus) and 
Ottar (Hotherus) were brothers, the sons of Hothbroddus, 
king of Sweden, and Hothbroddus was the son of Regnerus. 
According to Yngls. on the other hand, Adils was the 
son of Ottar, who was the son of Egil. 

We come now to compare the sum total of Scandina- 
vian evidence with that of Beowulf First, as regards 
the genealogies : according to Beowulf, Ongentheow, king 
of Sweden, had two sons, Onela and Ohthere : Ohthere 
had, in his turn, two sons, Eanmund and Eadgils, of whom 
the younger succeeded to the throne after having defeated 
and killed his uncle Onela. 

Ongentheow has entirely dropped out of Swedish 
tradition, where he has been replaced by Egil, a totally 



THE SWEDES 151 

different personality; but the great age of the Beowulf 
justifies us in accepting Ongentheow rather than Egil as 
the historical father of Ottar (Ohthere)*. 

Further, there is no mention in any Scandinavian 
authority of a king of Sweden whose figure corresponds 
to that of Onela, Eadgils' uncle and predecessor in Beowulf, 
but Yngls. and SkcUdsk. both relate that Adils was at 
war with a certain King Ali of Uppland, who belonged to 
Norway ; in this campaign, Adils — according to Skdldsk. 
— obtained help from Hrolf Kraki, who sent his twelve 
berserks (amongst them Bgdvar-Bjarki) to his assistance. 
A decisive battle was fought on the frozen Lake Wener 
(Vaenir), in which Ali was killed. 

All the evidence we possess tends to show that King 
Ali of Uppland in Skdldsk. and Yngls. must be identical 
with King Onela of Sweden in Beowulf In support of 
this, we have firstly the identity of the two names Onela 
and Ali, and secondly the similar circumstances which are 
reported concerning both. 

Both Onela and Ali were at war with Eadgils- Adils ; 
in both cases Adils called in foreign assistance against 
his foe. It is true that in one case the help came from 
the Danes, and in the other from the Geatas, but the link 
between the two lies in the person of Beowulf-Bgdvar. 
According to Beowulf it was Beowulf who helped Eadgils 
to wrest Sweden from his uncle Onela ; in Skdldsk. Bgd- 
var's name is the first among those of. twelve berserks sent 
by Hrolf Kraki to Adils' assistance. 

As has been elsewhere shown, there is a good deal 
of evidence in support of the view that Bgdvar-Bjarki 

* From an examination of the sources, it seems indeed possible that 
both the Egil of Yngls. and his father Aun are mythical characters. 



152 THE SWEDES 

and Beowulf are identical. Without further ado this 
would solve the difficulty that it was in one case the 
Geatas, in the other the Danes, who rendered assistance 
to Adds. 

The fact that Ali (Onela) appears in Scandinavian 
tradition as a Norwegian king is probably due to confusion 
arising out of the word Uppland. There was both a 
Swedish and a Norwegian Uppland : the former was in 
the heart of the Swedish kingdom, and consisted of the 
country lying immediately round Upsala, whereas the 
latter was a general name for the Norwegian highlands. 
As the Swedish king had his capital in Upsala, it was 
.1 .ral that he should be called king of Uppland, and 
ti.<ince it is easy to see how a confusion might arise in 
later times between the two Upplands, and how the 
names of one or more Swedish kings might, in consequence, 
drop out of the genealogies. 

In the case of Onela and Ali, it is probable that this 
is what took place, and that Ali was really a king of 
Sweden, as Beowulf reports him to have been. In this 
case again, the evidence of Beowulf is more trustworthy 
than that of the sagas on account of its greater age, and 
also because, in marked contrast to the Scandinavian 
authorities, it contains a circumstantial account of the 
events which led up to the campaign between Eadgils 
and Onela. 

This view receives confirmation from the site of the 
battle between Adils and Ali, which, according to Scandi- 
navian authorities, took place on the ice of Lake Wener 
(Vaenir). The lake separating Gotland from Sweden (i.e. 
Svealand) would be the most natural place for a Swedish 
army to meet a force coming from Gotland, as the Beowulf 



THE SWEDES 153 

reports Eadgils to have done. In the poem itself the 
battle between Eadgils and Onela is described thus : 

Lines 2393 £f. 

"Folce gestepte 
ofer sae side sunu Ohtheres 
wigum and waepnum : he gewraec syththan 
cealdum cear-slthum cyning ealdre binedt*." 

Is it too far-fetched to suppose that this " cold sorrow- 
bringing journey" is more than merely an alliterative 
expression, and is really a reference to the battle on the 
frozen lake ? 

There still remains for discussion Wiglaf, who comes 
into prominence in the last section of the Beowulf. 
in the course of Beowulf's struggle with the fire-spitt.- g 
dragon. Wiglaf is the more interesting, inasmuch as, 
with the exception of Beowulf himself, he is the only 
figure which stands out from the dimness of that last 
shadowy contest, with a tangible presence, and some 
semblance of claim to an actual flesh and blood existence. 
Wiglaf was apparently a Swedish warrior in the service of 
Beowulf, and was the only thane who did not desert his 
master at the hour of need, but stood by him to the end. 
The poem also gives some information about Wiglafs 
father, Weohstan. Weohstan was, we are told, in the 
service of Onela, king of Sweden ; he is probably identical 
with the Swedish Vesteinn mentioned in Kdlfsvisa, 
Skdldsk. Ch. 48. The hortatory speeches of Wiglaf are 
reminiscent of those made by Hjalti in Bjarkamdl, but 
the only character in northern tradition whose name 
presents any likeness to that of Wiglaf is Yqgg, the 

* "Beowulf supported Obthere's son with a host over the wide 
waters, with warriors and weapons : the latter subsequently executed 
vengeance by a cold hostile journey: he deprived the king of life." 



154 THE SWEDES 

faithful servant and avenger of Hrolf Kraki. The form 
of the name which occurs in Saxo, viz. Wiggo, looks like 
a hypocoristic, and it is tempting to connect it with 
Wiglaf, although the double consonant and short vowel 
present considerable difficulties in the way of identifying 
the two names. But in addition to this similarity of name 
the figures of Wiglaf and ^Qgg have certain features in 
common. Both were Swedes ; both left their first master 
for a new one, in one case Beowulf, and in the other Hrolf 
Kraki; both play a similar part in relation to their new 
master ; and both receive from him rich gifts. It is not 
necessary to emphasize anew the intimate association of 
Hrolf Kraki with Bgctvar-Bjarki, and, further, the extreme 
likelihood that the latter is identical with Beowulf 

Thus, in view of the foregoing suggestions, it is far 
from clear whether Vggg, Wiggo (Wiglaf?) was originally 
connected with Hrolf Kraki or with Beowulf- Bjarki. 
This again raises the whole question of Hrolf Kraki's fall 
at Leire, and makes it not altogether inconceivable that 
the narrative as it stands may have been substituted for 
one which, in the first instance, had Bgdvar-Bjarki 
(Beowulf) as its hero, and that the Bjarkamdl may be 
a reproduction, however corrupt and mutilated, of the 
speeches of Wiglaf and Beowulf in the last fyttes of the 
O.E. poem. 

IV. Historical Facts underlying the Swedish 
Traditions in Beowulf. 

It must be remembered that Sweden, at the time 
with which the Beowulf deals, by no means corresponds 
to the kingdom of Sweden at the present day, which 



THE SWEDES 155 

comprises Sweden (i.e. Svealand), Gotland and Skaane. 
Sweden and Gotland were originally politically separate 
countries, while Skaane, until comparatively recently, 
belonged to Denmark. The Sweden of the sixth century 
(Swidjod) consisted of what on modern maps appears as 
the province Svealand. 

In Heimskr. St Olafss. Ch. 76, which dates from the 
early thirteenth century, there is a geographical description 
of Sweden (Svvidjod). It is said to consist of: 

a. Suthrmannaland. 

h. Yestrmannaland or Fiathrundaland. 

c. Tiundaland. 

d. Attandaland. 

e. Sialand. 

Most of these divisions can still be traced on modern 
maps. 

Although there is no adequate reason to doubt the 
historical value of Ongentheow, Onela and Ohthere as 
kings of Sweden, the only king for whose life there is 
really satisfactory evidence is Adils (Eadgils of Beowulf). 
Again, taking as a starting-point the date of Hygelac's 
expedition to the Rhine, we must place the reign of Adils 
some time before the middle of the sixth century. 

Nowhere does the character of Adils appear in a very 
favourable light, in fact it is noteworthy that all authorities 
represent him as being of an avaricious and mean dispo- 
sition. The remarkable unanimity displayed with regard 
to this point would seem to indicate that it was no mere 
myth, but had solid foundation in historical fact. Yet in 
Yngls. it is stated that Adils was remembered among the 
Swedes as " the powerful king " (Ch. 23). 



156 THE SWEDES 

The evidence of Jordanes (Get. Ch. 3), who says that 
the Suethans, like the Thuringians, used the best horses, 
is valuable confirmation of the evidence of Yngls. Ch. 23, 
regarding the attention which Adils paid to horse- 
breeding. 

It seems almost certain that at the time with which 
we are dealing, Sweden (as probably also Gotland) was 
a tributary kingdom to Denmark, and that Adils was a 
vassal of Hrolf Kraki. It is impossible to affirm this with 
certainty, as our evidence is not thoroughly trustworthy, 
but every allusion points in the same direction, and we 
know in addition that Hrolf Kraki was famous throughout 
many lands on account of his conquests. 

The account of Adils' campaign against Onela, the 
reigning king of Sweden, who was probably his uncle, the 
assistance given to Adils by his allies the Gautar under 
Beowulf-Bgdvar, and his subsequent success in obtaining 
the Swedish crown, may be accepted as historical. The 
story of Yrsa is in all probability also founded on fact*. 

* Cf. Ch. II, pp. 82 ff. 



CHAPTER IV 

I. Offa. 

Offa is mentioned both in Beowulf and in WidsitK 
The following is a rough translation of the passages in the 
two poems, which contain allusions to him : 

Widsith, 11. 35-44. *'Offa ruled over Angel, Alevih 
over the Danes. He was the bravest of all these men, 
yet he did not surpass Offa in deeds of valour. But Offa, 
while yet a boy — at an earlier age than any other man — 
won the greatest of kingdoms. No one at the same age 
has performed a greater deed of valour. Single-handed he 
fixed his frontier with the Myrgingas at Fifeldor. The 
Engle and the Swaefe have ever since kept to the line 
won by Offa*." 

Beowulf, 11. 1931-1962. (The poet has been dwelling 
on the virtues of Hygd, the wife of Hygelac : suddenly, 
without any explanation, he breaks off in quite a different 
direction.) 

"A certain queen, Thrytho, was a woman of proud 
and fierce spirit. No man dare gaze on her face save her 
husband, without paying the penalty of imprisonment and 
death. This is not a queenly custom, but the 'ale- drinkers* 

* Translation by Mr H. M. Chadwick. 



158 OFF A 

report that Thrytho performed fewer wicked deeds since 
the time when she first came over the sea at her father's 
behest, to become the wife of Offa. 

" She observed her pledge towards the prince, and was 
renowned for her goodness at his court. Offa was a warrior, 
keen in battle and held in wide esteem. He was the 
kinsman of Heming and the descendant of Garmund. 
His son was Eomaer*." 

11. Other Authorities for Offa. 

Mercian Genealogy in A. S. Chron. under year 755 
and other Chronicles. 

Vitae duorum Off arum, or Legend of St Albans, 
ascribed to Matthew Paris. 

Saxo Grammaticus. 

Sven Aagesen (Langeb. 8. R. D. I, pp. 42-64). 

In the genealogy of the Mercian kings the name of 
Offa occurs twice. Offa II we know to have been king of 
Mercia from 757-796, and an account of his reign is given 
in the A. S. Chron., but there are no references in history to 
his ancestor Offa I, whose name occurs twelve generations 
earlier in the genealogy f. 

We may at once dismiss the idea that the above-quoted 
passages contain any allusion to Offa II, since apart from 
any other consideration the Beowulf had probably reached 
its present form considerably before the middle of the 
eighth century, when Offa II's reign commenced. 

The Legend of St Albans, or Vitae Offarum, has been 
ascribed to Matthew Paris, a monk of St Albans who died 

* Translation by Mr H. M. Chadwick. 
t Of. Appendix ii, with list of genealogies. 



OFF A 159 

about 1259, although it is now generally supposed to have 
been the work of an earlier writer, which was used by him ; 
the ostensible object of the work was to account for the 
founding of the monastery of St Albans. The legend is 
shortly as follows : — 

Vita Offae I. 

A certain king of the West Angles named Warmundus 
(probably here West Angles = Mercians), famous for having 
founded the city of Warwick, had one son Otfa. Offa was 
a man of great stature and tremendous strength, but he 
was blind until his seventh year, and dumb until his 
thirtieth. Some of the Mercian nobles, led by Riganus, 
conspired against Offa, and on the ground that he was 
physically unfit to reign, demanded the kingdom. Riganus 
himself hoped to be chosen as successor to the throne. 
The old king Warmundus, in great perplexity, called a 
council to consider what should be done, as he himself 
was too old to lead an army to battle. But in this crisis, 
Offa prayed that he might receive the gift of speech, and 
his request was granted ; the difficulty was then solved, 
for Offa forthwith volunteered to lead the king's army 
against the rebels. 

The two armies met on the opposing banks of a deep 
river. Offa dashed across the river, and engaged the two 
sons of the rebel leader, Hildebrandus and Sueno, both of 
whom he killed. The rebel army was completely routed 
and Offa returned home victorious. His father Warmundus 
resigned the throne in his favour, and died soon after- 
wards. He was buried at Gloucester. 

One day, Offa, while jDut hunting, heard the voice of 
someone in distress. He found it to proceed from a 



160 OFFA 

maiden, who told him that she was the daughter of the 
king of York. Her father had wished to seduce her, and 
she had fled away into the woods. Offa took the maiden 
home with him, and she became his wife. Subsequently 
he had by her twin children. 

Some years after this incident, the king of Northumbria 
appealed to Offa for help in war against the Scots. Offa 
went to his assistance and was victorious. 

He then wrote to his nobles giving an account of his 
successes, and despatched his letter by a. messenger. But 
on the way south it was intercepted by the king of York, 
who at last saw an opportunity for achieving revenge for 
the flight of his daughter. For the original letter he 
substituted a forged one, which announced a great disaster 
to Offa's army. According to the letter, this misfortune 
was directly due to divine wrath against Offa for having 
married his wife, and directions were given that she and 
her children should be exposed in the woods, and maimed 
or killed. These orders were followed. Mother and 
children were turned out into the forest and the children 
were killed. They were, however, restored to life by the 
prayers of an anchorite, who then took them, along with 
their mother, home to his cell and hid them there. 

When Offa returned, the treachery of the king of 
York was discovered, but it was only after a long and 
painful search that he came upon the anchorite, who re- 
stored to him his wife and children. At the suggestion of 
the anchorite, Offa vowed to build a monastery as a thank- 
offering, but he forgot all about his promise until the time 
of his death, when he exhorted his son to fulfil the neg- 
lected vow. The fulfilment of the promise was postponed 
from generation to generation until the days of Offa II. 



OFF A 161 



Vita Offae II. 



(What follows is only a partial account of the Vita 
Offae II, which is very long and contains much that has 
no bearing on the present subject.) 

Thingferth, a Mercian prince, had a son Winifrith, who 
was lame, and could neither see nor hear. Thingferth and 
his wife, remembering the story of Offa, prayed that 
Winifrith might become sound, and took a fresh vow to 
build a monastery. Their prayer was answered, and their 
son healed. After he was cured, Winifrith received the 
name of Offa. 

In the meantime, a certain noble, Beornred, revolted, 
and killed many of the leading men in the kingdom. 
Thingferth and his wife fled before him, but Offa remained 
behind and defeated Beornred, and was then elected 
king. 

One day there drifted to the shore a small rudderless 
boat, bearing a girl who was almost dead from starvation 
and exposure. She gave her name as Drida and said that 
she was a relative of Carolus, king of the Franks. The 
reason that she had been cast adrift she gave as her 
refusal to accept offers of marriage from certain persons 
of ignoble blood. The truth was, however, that Drida had 
been condemned to death for some crime, the nature of 
which is not stated ; but on account of her royal blood, 
the punishment was commuted to exposure in a rudderless 
boat. Offa received Drida well, and she was fed and care- 
fully tended until health and beauty were restored. Then 
Offa married her, although much against the will of his 
parents, who from the first had not believed her story. 
After her marriage Drida was called Quendrida. Offa 

c. 11 



l62 OFFA 

and Quendrida had three daughters. The eldest married 
Brithriciis (Berhtric) king of Wessex, the second Aethel- 
redus (Aethelred) king of Northumbria, and the third 
was promised to Albertus (Aethelbert) king of East 
Anglia. 

By this time Quendrida had come out in her true 
colours. She was a cruel, scheming woman who hated 
her husband, and desired above all things to get rid of 
him. She was angry that her daughters should all marry 
Englishmen, and would have liked to marry them to 
foreign princes, who would then have helped her to 
destroy Offa. She therefore conspired against the life of 
Albertus, and caused him to be secretly murdered, one 
day while he was on his way to visit his bride. Shortly 
afterwards, Quendrida was herself murdered by robbers at 
the very spot on which Albertus had fallen, and Offa, full 
of gratitude at being delivered from the plots of his wife, 
fulfilled the vow made long before by his ancestor, Offa I, 
and founded the monastery of St Albans. 

The historical evidence regarding Offa II which is 
contained in the A. S. Chron. confirms the account of the 
Vita Offae II, accordiug to which Offa obtained his 
kingdom by defeating the rebel Beornred. There is, 
however, no reason to suppose that the very peculiar 
circumstances under which Offa I fought were repeated 
in the case of Offa II as Matthew Paris reports them to 
have been. 

A story which strikiugly resembles that told of Offa I 
in the Legend of St Albans is related by the Danish 
historians Saxo (pp. 106-117) and Sven Aagesen. Sven 
Aagesen wrote in the year 1185, and Saxo was engaged on 
his work at the same time, but it was not completed 



OFF A 163 

until the beginning of the twelfth century. The accounts 
of the story given by these two writers are so much alike 
as to be almost identical. 

Wermundus, the son of Vigletus, was king of Denmark : 
during his reign the province of Sleswic, which formed 
part of the kingdom, was governed by a man named 
Frowinus. 

Athislus, king of Sweden, invaded Denmark in the 
neighbourhood of Sleswic : Frowinus, who led the de- 
fending army, met Athislus in single combat and was 
killed. Wermundus then gave the government into the 
bands of Keto and Wigo*, his sons. 

Keto and Wigo determined to avenge their father's 
death, and went to Sweden, where they lay in wait for 
Athislus. Seizing their opportunity, they fell on him 
together and killed him, but their action was generally 
considered most discreditable to their honour, although 
Wermundus was satisfied to have got rid of his enemy by 
any means, fair or foul. 

Wermundus had one son, Uffo, the child of his old age, 
who was a man of enormous size and strength, but who 
for many years was afflicted with dumbness. According 
to Sven Aag. Uffo did not speak from his seventh to his 
thirtieth year, and his silence was due to shame on account 
of the disgraceful action of Keto and Wigo in killing 
Athislus. UfFa was in a position to feel this disgrace 
very keenly, as he was married to the daughter of 
Frowinus. 

* In the genealogy of Wessex we find the descendants of Wodan 
given as follows : 

Wodan — Beldaeg — Brand — Frithungar — Freaivine — Wig, &c. 

In Saxo : Frowinus — Wigo. 

11—2 



164 OFFA 

In his old age Wermundus became blind ; an embassy 
came to him from the king of Saxony*, proposing that, 
as Wermundus was blind, decrepit, and unfit to rule, 
Denmark should be handed over to him. If Wermundus 
would not agree to this proposal, let his son come out and 
fight against the son of the sender of the challenge. 
Wermundus was deeply stung by these taunts, but he 
answered that although old and blind, he would himself 
accept the challenge and go out to fight. Just at that 
moment, however, Uffo stepped forward and spoke for the 
first time. He offered to fight single-handed against the 
son of the king of Saxony and any other warrior whom he 
might choose to support him. The reason he gave for 
wishing to fight against two men instead of one was that 
by so doing he hoped to wipe out the disgrace which lay 
upon the Danes on account of the death of Athislus 
through Keto and Wigo. 

An island on the river Eider was chosen as the scene 
of the duel, and great crowds of onlookers flocked thither 
to witness the combat. Uffo went down alone to meet 
his opponents. The old Wermundus was also guided 
down to the river and he stood on the bridge, ready to 
throw himself down, should his son suffer defeat. But 
Uffo cut to pieces, first the Prince of Saxony and then the 
other Saxon champion, and thus retrieved the glory of 
the Danish nation, which had been lost through the 
murder of Athislus. The kingdom of Saxony was then 
handed over to the Danes, and was governed by Uffo 
after his father's death. 

* This is Saxo's version : according to Sven Aag. the embassy was; 
sent by the Emperor. 



OFFA 165 

III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to Offa. 

The story of Uffo as told by Saxo and Sven Aagesen 
obviously refers to the saaie events as that of the Vita 
Offae I, and UfFo the son of Wermund is clearly the same 
person as Offa the son of Warmundus. In both cases the 
king's son, vsrbo has been dumb until his thirtieth year, 
recovers his speech under similar circumstances, and over- 
comes singlehanded, by a river, two champions of an 
opposing army. Further, the genealogy of Uffo's ancestors 
given by Saxo corresponds to that of Offa's ancestors in 
the Mercian genealogy: 

Saxo, Yigletus. Mercian Gen. Wihtlaeg. 

Wermundus. Wermund. 

Uffo. Offa. 

There are, however, certain discrepancies between the 
accounts of Saxo and Sv. Aag. on the one hand and the 
Vita Offae on the other, the chief of which are the 
following : 

1. According to Saxo and Sv. Aag. Wermundus and 
Uffo were kings of the Danes, and Uffo's combat took 
place on the frontiers of Schleswig and Holstein. Accord- 
ing to Matthew Paris, Warmundus and Offa were kings of 
the Mercians, and all the events connected with them 
took place in England. 

2. According to Saxo and Sv. Aag. the attack on 
Wermundus was the act of aggression of a foreign king, 
whereas in the Vita Offae the enemies of King Warmundus 
were rebel nobles. 

3. In Saxo and Sv. Aag. the whole quarrel between 
Wermundus and the king of Saxony (or the Emperor) 
was settled by the result of Uffo's duel, while in the Vita 



166 OFF A 

Offae a pitched battle took place of which the duel was 
but one episode. 

It is evident that these three accounts — viz. those of 
Saxo, Sv. Aag., and the Vita Offae I — tell the same story 
as that related by Widsith, 11. 35-44, of Offa, king of 
Angel, where we find again the description of Offa's great 
prowess, and of his momentous single-handed combat with 
the invaders (see p. 157). Widsith is, however, in dis- 
agreement with the other authorities in regard to Offa's 
age at the time of the incident described. Whereas the 
Vita Offae I, Saxo, and Sv. Aag. all represent him as a 
man of about thirty years of age, he is described in 
Widsith as cniht-wesende, " while yet a boy," and this 
epithet is emphasized by the words which follow — viz. "at 
an earlier age than any other man." To explain this, it 
has been suggested that in the original account of the 
story the expression used with regard to Offa's age at the 
time of the duel may possibly have been thritig missera 
(thirty half-years, i.e. fifteen years), which later writers 
may have misinterpreted as thirty years. 

If we now turn back to the Vita Offae I we see that 
Offa I is there represented as a king of Mercia, and that 
the whole scene of the story is laid in England. 

According to the genealogies, Offa I was the ancestor 
of Penda, king of Mercia*. 

In the A. S. Chron. (MS. X) under the year 626, there 
stands an entry in which it is said that Penda, who began 
to reign in that year, was fifty years of age, and that he 
reigned for thirty years. According to this reckoning, 
Penda was born in the year 576, and was eighty years of 
age when he died in the year 656. But there are good 
* Cf . list of genealogies in Appendix ii. 



OFFA 167 

reasons for regarding it as improbable that this chronology- 
is correct, or that Penda was born as early as the year 576. 
For example : 

1. On his death in QoQ, Penda left quite a young 
family, as his youngest son resigned the throne as late as 
the year 704. 

2. Penda's sister, who was married to Coenwalh, king 
of Essex, was divorced by her husband between the years 
640 and 650, and it is extremely unlikely that she should 
have been the sister of a man who was at that time 
between seventy and eighty years of age, the more so as 
Coenwalh, who died in 673, is said by Bede* to have been 
cut off by a premature death. 

3. Penda was engaged in wars up to the time of his; 
death, an activity which would have been, to say the 
least, surprising in a man of eighty years old. 

Although the combined weight of these considerations 
makes it barely possible that Penda can have been born 
as early as 576, we may assume that he was at any rate 
well on in years at the time of his death in 656, and for 
purposes of calculation, the year 600 may be taken as the 
approximate date of his birth. If we reckon back, allow- 
ing thirty years for each generation, we get the year 
360 A.D. as the approximate date of the birth of Ofifa I. 
But this is the pre-British and pre-Christian period of the 
English nation, and if there was a King Offa I, he must 
have ruled over the Angles on the Continent, and not in 
England. Thus the authority of Matthew Paris, in so far 
as he represents Offa I as king of Mercia and a Christian, 
cannot be accepted. 

Wermund and Uffo are represented in Saxo as kings 

* Hist. Eccl. Ill, 7. 



168 OFFA 

of the Danes, but they are never mentioned in connection 
with the islands, which were the stronghold and seat of 
government of the Danish kingdom. On the contrary, all 
the places mentioned in the story of Uffo, e.g. Sleswic, 
Eider, &c. are situated in the southern part of the Jutish 
peninsula, i.e. in, or near, the district which was the 
former home of the English and which ancient writers 
called Angel* (Ongel, Oghgul). In Widsith, I. 35, Offa is 
definitely said to have reigned over Angel. A possible 
explanation of this anomaly is that Wermund and Uffo 
came to be regarded as Danes, because they were known 
to have ruled over a country which later belonged to 
Denmark. When the Danes acquired possession of 
S. Jutland they became heirs, so to speak, of existing 
local traditions of which the story of Uffo would naturally 
be one, and Wermundus, which is the usual form in Saxo 
and Sven Aag., and which is English or Frisian and not 
Danish, would lend colour to this supposition f. 

The hypothesis which has been put forward to account 
for the presence of an English form Wermundus in Danish 
tradition — viz. that the Danes first acquired the story of 
Offa during the period of their invasions of Britain — 
would fail to account for the continental forms such as 
Fro win us and Uffo which occur in the Scandinavian 
authorities, and also for the localisation of events in their 
version of the story. 

Saxo, Sv. Aag., and other writers were apparently 
quite familiar with the spot on which Uffo's duel took 

* Cf. H. M. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 103 f . 

t Mr Chadwick believes that the Danes, when they settled in the 
basin of Eider, probably in the fifth century, ' ' adopted the language of 
the natives, though at the same time without losing consciousness of 
their own nationality" {op. cit. p. 140). 



OFFA 169 

place — viz. on an island in the river Eider (Saxo, pp. 115, 
402). This island is said to be the one on which part of 
the town of E-endsburg stands : the spot is called by Peter 
Olavus, Kunungskamp (S. R. D. i, p. 84), which name is 
perhaps preserved in Kampen, formerly one of the parishes 
of the same town {8. R. D. l, p. 152, note). According to 
Wids. 1. 43, Offa fought his single combat at Fifeldor 
(bi Fifeldore) : no place of that name is known : but it 
is not altogether inconceivable that the name should be 
connected in some way with Egidora, which is the older 
form of Eider. The last part of the word is the same in 
both cases, and fifel, which in O.E. = monster, might 
possibly represent egi, if the latter is connected with 
O.E. e^e = terror. 

Nor was the story of Offa first brought to England by 
the Danes. For the names of Offa and Wermund occur 
in genealogies previous to the Danish invasions, and the 
authority of Beowulf and Widsith is also of an earlier 
date*. There does not appear to have been any com- 
munication between England and the Baltic countries 
from the middle of the sixth century up to the time of 
the Danish invasions {vid. sup. p. 53), so that with regard 
to the story of Offa (Uffo) we are driven back upon the 
only possible conclusion — viz. that English and Scan- 
dinavian tradition has developed independently at any 
rate since the sixth century. The English invaders carried 
with them to their new home the remembrance of the 
exploits of their national hero, while the story lived on on 

* It is impossible to say with any certainty when these poems were 
composed, but according to the best authority they seem to date in the 
first instance from not later than the very beginning of the seventh 
century. 



170 OFFA 

its native soil, and became incorporated in the annals of 
the Danish nation of which Angel afterwards became part, 

Saxo relates that in the reign of Werniundus, Denmark 
was constantly harried by the incursions of Athislus, king 
of Sweden. There are two curious facts to be noted about 
this Athislus. In the first place, he always attacked the 
Danes in the neighbourhood of Sleswic, whereas the 
obvious point for a Swedish attack on Denmark would 
have been either Skaane in the south of Sweden, or the 
island of Zealand. In the second place, the fact that 
Uffo, king of Denmark, killed single-handed two warriors 
who were Saxons, hardly seems a sufficient equivalent for 
the murder of Athislus, king of Sweden, by two Danish 
champions who attacked him simultaneously. 

According to Widsith, 1. 42, it was against the Myrgingas 
that Offa fought in single combat. This people probably 
occupied territory between the Elbe and the Vistula and 
in the neighbourhood of the Angli, but the name Myrgin- 
gas appears to have been rather a dynastic than a tribal 
one, else it is difficult to account for the omission by other 
authorities of all mention of the tribe, which appears to 
have been one of considerable importance. We learn^ 
further, from Widsith that the leader of the Myrgingas 
was a prince named Eadgils. 

Now Swedish tradition preserves the name of only 
one King Adils, who reigned in the middle of the sixth 
century and with whose figure we are already familiar. 
As the events of the story of Offa must have taken place 
before the sixth century, it is obvious that this King 
Adils is not the same person as the Athislus referred to 
by Saxo in connection with the story. It has, however, 
been suggested that Eadgils mentioned by Widsith as the 



OFFA 



171 



leader of the Myrgingas is identical with Athislus who, 
according to Saxo, harried Denmark in the reign of 
Wermund. 

The figure and deeds of Athislus would acquire far 
more significance if it could be proved that he belonged 
to the country south of the Eider instead of being, as Saxo 
reports, king of Sweden. 

The explanation given above is rendered more probable 
by further considerations : 

If Athislus came from the south, his most natural 
point of attack on the Angles would be Sleswic. The 
action of Uffo in killing two Saxon warriors, in order to 
atone for the disgrace which had rested on the Danish 
nation since the death of Athislus, would also be more 
easily explained, and would further link the story of Saxo 
to that of Widsith, in which Offa fights against the 
Myrgingas, whose leader is said in the same poem to be 
Eadgils (Athislus). 

Again, Widsith represents Eadgils of the Myrgingas 
as contemporary with Ermanric, king of the Goths 
(of Widsith, 11. 88-98), whose death we know to have 
taken place shortly before the year 375 A.D. (Ammian. 
XXXI, 3, 1). Eadgils must, therefore, have lived in the 
middle and latter half of the fourth century. But 360 was 
the year which we have seen cause to regard as the 
approximate date of the birth of Offa I, so that he must 
have been a considerably younger man than Eadgils. 
Uffo's duel did not, however, according to Saxo, take place 
until some time after the death of Athislus, and this 
chronology would therefore be quite in agreement with 
the theory that the latter is identical with Eadgils, prince 
of the Myrgingas, the patron of Widsith. 



172 OFFA 

It is, however, difficult to come to any definite con- 
clusion regarding the nationality of Offa's opponents, for 
Myrgingas, as we have seen, is possibly a family or 
dynastic rather than a national name. Saxo calls them 
SaxOnes (p. 116), while in Sven Aagesen's chronicle they 
appear as Alamanni (S. R. D. I, pp. 45-47). 

At the end of the passage in Widsith, containing an 
allusion to OfFa (11. 43 f ), it is said that " the Engle and 
Swaefe have ever since kept to the line won by Ofifa." It 
is not clear from this whether the Engle and Swaefe were 
allies or enemies, though the natural interpretation would 
certainly be that they were the two compounding parties 
to a bargain which was the means of bringing some 
previous disagreement to an end. The most that can be 
definitely inferred from the passage is that the Engle and 
Swaefe must have been neighbouring tribes. 

Now from the evidence of classical historians (most 
important in this respect are Strabo and Tacitus) the 
term Suebi (Suabi) appears to have been a group-name 
covering a number of tribes, all of which lay in or round 
the basin of the Elbe. Hence in all probability the Suabi 
{Swaefe) mentioned in Widsith were the North Suabi, 
occupying the western part of Holstein and thus bordering 
on the Angli {Engle) on the south and south-west. 

On behalf of the supposition that the Widsith poet, in 
mentioning this people of the North Suabi, is referring to 
Offa's enemies, there are one or two circumstances which 
must be taken into account. We have seen that, in 
Sv. Aagesen's narrative, Offa's opponents are called 
Alamanni: now the Alamanni are sometimes called Suabi*. 

* Cf. Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum, in, 18 ; ii, 15 ; Greg. 
Tur. Hist. Franc, ii, 2. 



OFFA 173 

Again, if the Athislus of Saxo was, as has been suggested^ 
identical with the Eadgils described in Widsith as Prince 
of the Myrgingas, Offa's opponents, it is quite possible that 
this king was originally designated Sivebe kyning, and 
that for the subsequently forgotten term Sweta was 
substituted the more familiar Svea by later Danish 
writers. 

On the whole there seems good reason to believe that 
the people against whom Offa fought his single combat,, 
who appear variously as Myrgingas, Saxones, Alamanni,. 
are also referred to in Widsith, 1. 44, as the Swae/e, and 
that they belonged to the northern branch of the great 
congeries of tribes situated round the basin of the river 
Elbe, described collectively by classical historians as the 
Suebi* (Suabi). 

We have still to consider the allusion contained in the- 
passage from Beoiuulf (11. 1931-1962), usually known as 
the Offa Episode, which was cited at the beginning of the 
chapter. The Oifa referred to, as has been seen, cannot 
be Offa II, the historical king of Mercia, but any doubt 
which may still exist on this point is dispelled by the 
reference in Beo. 11. 1960-1962, where he is spoken of as- 
the descendant of Garmund and the ancestor of Eomaer, 
thus occupying a position analogous to that of Offa I in 
the Mercian genealogy. 

The bulk of the Beowulf passage deals with Thrytho,. 
Offa's wife, whose character is represented in a most 
unfavourable light, though to her credit it is said that her 
morals and manners underwent a considerable improve- 
ment after her marriage. This Thrytho, strangely enough,. 

* The information here given with regard to Offa's enemies is. 
borrowed entirely from Mr Chadwick, cf. op. cit. pp. 124 ff. 



174 OFFA 

corresponds in name and character to the Quendrida of 
the Lege7id of St Albans, who was the wife not of Offa I, 
but of Offa II. The historical wife of Offa II was 
Cynethryth (not Cwenthryth, which would correspond to 
Quendrida), and the only historical evidence regarding 
her character is contained in a letter from Alcuin to 
Egfrith, Offa's son, in which the words occur " Disce a 
patre auctoritatem a matre pietatem*." This allusion 
does not justify us in believing Cynethryth the monster 
she is represented to be in the Vita Offae II. According 
to the A. S. Chron., Aethelberht (Albertus in Legend 0/ 
St Albans) was put to death by Offa. There is no 
authority earlier than that of the twelfth centuryf for 
implicating Cynethryth in the murder. 

Nothing is known historically of the wife of Offa I. 
The story of the Vita Offae I does not bear the impress 
of a genuine narrative, and may very probably have been 
invented merely to suit the purposes of the legend (i.e. 
to account for Offa's vow to build the monastery of 
St Albans) ; it thus appears that great confusion arose in 
later English tradition both between the two Offas and 
between their wives, and that in particular the attributes 
of the wife of Offa I were, quite unjustifiably, transferred 
to the wife of Offa II. 

IV. Historical Facts underlying References to 
Offa in Beowulf and Widsith. 

In the case of Offa, the historical background for the 
events recorded in Beowulf and Widsith seems less hazy 
than usual, owing to the unanimity which exists between 

* Jaffe, Bill. Rer. Germ, vi, p. 267. 
t Of. Florence of Worcester, i, 62, 63. 



OFFA 175 

the accounts given in the poems and those contained in 
other records. 

The combined evidence of all authorities gives us the 
following well-substantiated facts, which there is little 
difficulty in accepting as historical. 

In the second half of the fourth century there leigned 
over the country of Angel (the district between the Slee 
and Rendsburg) a king named Waermund. Waermund 
was an old man and had one son, Offa, who was apparently 
as a boy awkward, uncouth and generally unpromising, 
but who, as he advanced in life, won an unrivalled reputa- 
tion for strength and courage. 

On one occasion preparations were made for attacking 
Angel by a hostile power, whose territory presumably lay 
to the south or south-west of the river Eider; there is 
some ground for identifying the invaders with the people 
known to classical historians as the North Suabi. Their 
object appears to have been to reduce Augel to the con- 
dition of a tributary state, but no battle took place : for 
according to agreement, the dispute was settled by a 
single combat on an island in the river Eider, in which 
Offa killed two picked champions of the opposing army, 
thereby fixing once and for all the frontier of his father's 
kingdom. After this signal victory, Offa became king of 
Angel, and his fame went abroad as that of the most 
valiant of kings*. 

There is good ground for accepting as historical the 
fact that Offa I had a wife as notorious for her vicious 
habits as her husband was famous for his bravery. It is 

* Some reference to the subsequent history of Offa and his possible 
relations with the Alevih of Wids. 1. 35 has already been made in the 
preceding chapter, cf. p. 119. 



176 OFFA 

not necessary to repeat the story of the strange arrival of 
this woman in Offa's country, of her marriage with Offa, 
and his subsequent discovery of her true character. It 
may seem rash to accept this story on the sole evidence of 
Beowulf, but weight is added to this evidence by the 
narrative of the author of the Vitae Offarum, who knew 
and told the same story, although, owing to some con- 
fusion, he believed it to refer to the wife not of Offa I but 
of Offa 11. 



CHAPTEE V 

FINN. 

I & III*. The epic fragment Finn and the Finn 
episode in Beowulf are all that have come down to ns of 
a lost Finn saga : the Fragment probably formed part of a 
whole epic on the subject of the Finn saga, the rest of 
which has disappeared. 

Both the Finn episode and the Fragment are ex- 
tremely obscure, and have hitherto baffled the efforts 
which have been made to reconstruct the saga with even 
approximate certainty. The Finn episode, in about one 
hundred lines, sketches in outline the course of events 
in a quarrel between Finn the king of the Frisians, and 
Hnaef and Hengest, whom it calls JDanes. The Fragment 
seems to consist of a more detailpf account of one of the 
episodes of that quarrel. The ^iieral course of events in 
the Finn saga as contained in the 5eO'?(;w^ passage (11. 1068- 
1159) may, with the help of the references in Widsith-^, 
be provisionally reconstructed as follows : 

Finn, the son of Folcwalda, ruled over the Frisians. 
His wife was probably Hildeburh, the daughter of Hoc. 

* No Scand. or other authorities contain evidence with regard to this 
saga. 

+ W/ds. 1. 27: "Fin Folcwalding (weold) Fresnacynne." 
1.29: "Hnaef (weold) Hocingum." 

n. 12 



178 FINN 

We learn irom Widsith that Hnaef ruled over the Hocings, 

and from Beowulf thsit he was the vassal of Healfdene. It 

is probable, too, judging from Beo. 1. 1074, that he was 

a near relative, perhaps a brother, of Hildeburh. This 

Hnaef visited the court of Finn, along with a retinue of 

warriors, the chief of whom was called Hengest. Strife 

broke out between Finn and his guests, and there is 

certainly the suggestion of foul play on one side or the 

other, though it is not clear on which {Beo. 11. 1068 ff.). 

In the fight Hnaef was killed, and also apparently one 

or more of Hildburh's sons (cf. 1. 1074). Finn's fighting 

force was so much impaired by the damage inflicted on it 

by Hnaef's men that Finn was obliged to come to terms 

with Hengest, who had taken command after Hnaef's 

death. Hnaef's men received treasure in compensation 

for their losses, and solemn oaths of peace were exchanged 

(11. 1085 ff.). The bodies of the slaughtered warriors, i.e. 

of Hnaef and the son or sons of Hildeburh, w^ere solemnly 

burned on one pyre, in the presence of the sorrowing 

queen (11. 1108-1124). 

Through the winter and on into the next spring, peace 
was preserved between Finn and Hengest ; perhaps Hen- 
gest became Finn's sworn vassal through the acceptance 
of a sword, Hunlafing (cf 11. 1143 ff.). But when icy 
A/^'inter had relaxed its hold on sea and land, and spring- 
was fully come, thoughts of vengeance began to stir in 
Hengest's mind, and he thought more, as we are told. 
of the possibility of accomplishing his revenge than of 
setting out on a sea- voyage (i.e. of escaping from Finn's 
land) (11. 1127-1141). From this point onwards the course 
of events is not quite clear, but it would appear that 
Guthlaf and Oslaf, two warriors also mentioned in the 



FINN 179 

Fragment (Guthlaf and Ordlaf) as accompanj'ing Hengest, 
were the instigators of an attack upon Finn, the result of 
which was that the Frisians were completely defeated, 
while Finn himself was killed and his queen taken 
prisoner along with much treasure, and carried home by 
the Danes (11. 1146-1159). 

Such being the outline of the course of events, the 
difficult question arises of assigning to the more detailed 
events described in the Finn Fragment their proper 
place in the story. The Fragment is evidently part of 
the description of a treacherous attack made by Finn 
on the hall where the Danes were passing the night. 
Hengest exhorted his men to fight bravely (11. 11-13) 
and posted some of his best warriors to hold the doors. 
At one door were stationed Guthlaf and Ordlaf, at the 
other Sigeferth and Eaha (11. 16-18). The only two 
warriors mentioned as apparently belonging to Finn's 
band are Garulf and Guthere (1. 20). Of these we hear 
that Garulf was slain, presumably in a fight with Sige- 
ferth (1. 33). The defenders of the hall, i.e. Hnaef's 
men, numbered sixty. For five days they held the doors 
without losing a single man (11. 39-44). 

It is difficult to see in this story either of the two 
fights alluded to in the Finn episode in Beowulf, as the 
circumstances under which it took place do not seem to 
apply exactly to either. 

In the second battle of the Finn episode, in which 
Finn was defeated and slain, it is explicitly stated that 
Guthlaf and Oslaf were the attackers, which scarcely 
seems to tally with the account of a surprise night 
attack by Finn, for there can be no doubt that in the 
Fragment the Frisians were the attacking party. It is 

12—2 



180 FINN 

also difficult to identify the first fight of the Finn 
episode, Beo. 11. 1068-1085, with the battle described 
in the Fragment. Beo. 1. 1068, ihd hie se faer hegeaty 
does not seem to indicate that the first attack was 
made by the Frisians: nor does it appear from 11. 1071-2 
that any treachery practised was on the part of Finn 
(i.e. if we take Eotena as referring to Hnaef and his 
followers, a point to the discussion of which we shall 
return later on). 

The alternatives which remain to us with regard to 
the fight described in the Fragment are to suppose either 
that it formed the latter stage of one or other of the 
struggles referred to in the Finn episode, or that it 
described some fight which the Finn episode entirely 
passes over, though this latter supposition is unlikely. 
It might very well be a description of part of the first 
struggle, and refer to the events immediately following on 
Hnaef s death, when we might suppose that the strangers 
took up as strong a position as possible in anticipation of 
a counter-attack. The heatho-geong cyning, Finn, 1. 2^ 
would then aptly enough denote Hengest, on whom the 
command had just devolved (in fact Finn, 1. 17, and 
Hengest sylf, seems to imply that he was meant by 
heatho-geong-cyning), and the losses which the defenders 
evidently inflicted on the Frisians would tally well with 
Beo. 11. 1080 ff., Wig alle fornam Finnes thegnas, &c. 
Finn, 11. 41-42, also give a good meaning if they can be 
taken to refer to the speedy vengeance which Hnaef 's 
followers meted out to the Frisians for the death of their 
master*. 

* " I never heard of better recompense given for sweet mead than, 
that with which Hnaef was requited by his followers." 



FINN 181 

This hypothesis* seems to fit the facts related in the 
two poems better than the other theory which has been 
propounded respecting Finn by Moller and others. These 
scholars hold that the Finn Fragment refers to part of 
the last struggle between Hengest and Finn, that it 
is the grimne gripe after which Guthlaf and Oslaf made 
their last attack on Finn. But the Finn episode in Beo- 
wulf certainly implies that the second struggle between 
Hnaef's followers and the Frisians took place altogether 
on the initiative of the former, and that Guthlaf and 
Oslaf came across the sea in order to accomplish their 
purpose. There is nothing either in the Beowulf or in 
the Fragment to imply that Hengest was killed, and that 
Guthlaf and Oslaf then assumed command and defeated 
Finn. Indeed such an idea is far-fetched and very im- 
probable "f*. 

A somewhat difficult point in the Finn episode is the 
use of the word Eoten-, which occurs four times — three 
times as a genitive, Eotena, and once as a dative, Eotenum. 
It has been taken both as referring to the Frisians and to 
Hnaef's men. 

In the first case, 1. 1072, the use of the word is 
ambiguous ; there is nothing to show to which party it 
refers. In the second case, viz. 1. 1088, Eotena seems 
clearly to refer to Hnaef's men: hie, which is the subject 
of the clause, must denote the same persons as the hig in 
1. 1085, which is the subject of the principal clause, and 
which evidently refers to the Frisians. 

* Cf. also Kogel, Gesch. d. deutsch. Litt., Vol. i, p. 166. 

t It should be noted that nowhere in the Finn episode is Hildeburh 
explicitly stated to have been the wife of Finn, but from the context 
we are justified in assuming this to have been the case. She is not 
Tnentioned at all in the Fragment. 



182 FINN 

We find the word a third time in 1. 1141, he Eotena 
beam inne gemunde. He = Hengest about whom the 
previous lines have spoken ; whether Eotena refers to 
his own people or to the opposing party, i.e. the Frisians, 
depends on the sense in which gemunde is taken. Com- 
mentators who wish to make Eotena correspond to Fresna 
translate gemunde as " remember," i.e. take vengeance on : 
but it is much more natural to suppose that the feeling 
described by gemunde was one of sorrow for lost friends, 
in which case Eotena beam refers of course to Hengest's 
own men. 

1. 1145. — mid Eotenum. 

The allusion contained in mid Eotenum is difficult, 
as the passage is obscure, but the key to the explanation 
is perhaps contained in Hunldjing^ cf 1. 1143 : this Hun- 
lafing was apparently a sword, which became the property 
of Hengest. 

In Arngrim Jonsson's extracts from the lost Skjgld- 
iingasaga* there is an account of a Danish king Leivus, 
the father of seven sons, three of whom were named 
Hunnleivus, Oddleifus, Gunnleifus. Two of these names, 
viz. Oddleifus and Gunnleifus, are clearly identical with 
Ordlaf and Guthlaf who are mentioned in the Finn 
Fragment, 1. 16, as fighting on the side of Hengest, 
and who appear in Beo. 1. 1148 as avenging the death 
of Hnaef on Finn. (In this case, we may assume Oslaf 
to be a scribal error for Ordlaf.) A further confirmation 
of this is supplied by Beo. 1. 1090, where Hengest's men 
are called Danes. The coincidence between the third 
name Hunnleivus and the Hunlafing of Beo. 1, 1143 is 
too striking to be accidental, and at once places the 
* Aarl.f. n. Oldkynd. 1894, pp. 104 ff. 



FINN 183 

whole passage in close relation to Ordlaf and Guthlaf, 
whom we know to have been warriors fighting on the 
side of Heogest. 

The form of Hunlafing (cf. Hrunting, Miming) would 
suggest that it was the name of a sword, origiually the 
property of a warrior named Hunlaf (Hunnleivus ?), which 
(cf. 11. 1143, 1144) apparently passed at this time into 
the possession of Hengest : the words of 1. 1145, Jyaes 
waeron mid Eotenum ecge citthe, are in that case spoken 
of Hunlafing, and their most natural significance would 
be that the sword was famous amongst the nation or 
tribe to which its owner belonged, i.e. mid Eotenum. But 
we have already seen good reason to associate Hunlafing 
with Ordlaf and Guthlaf, Hengest's men ; this being so, 
we are justified in inferring that the allusion contained in 
mid Eotenum is to the followers of Hengest — the " Dene " 
— rather than to the followers of Finn. 

The iorm Eotena may be identical with the Scandinavian 
name for the inhabitants of Jutland, the O.E. forms of 
which would be O.E, Eotan^, Anglian Eote, earliest Anglian 
*Juti (=Bede's Juti, Jutae); E.W.S. Jete, L.W.S. Ytef. 
The gen. form Eotena shows, like Seawna and Miercna, 
the genitive plural termination of nouns of the weak 
declension (cf. Sievers, op. cit. § 264, note), and the dative 
Eotenum for Eotum has taken the ?i from the genitive (cf. 
Sievers, op. cit. § 277, note 1, dat. pi., nefenum for nefum, 
from nom. sing. nefa). 

Bede calls the invaders of Kent and of the Isle of 

Wight Jutae and Juti, and in the A.S. Bede Terra 

Jutarum is rendered by Ytenaland and Eotaland. A.S. 

eo and O.N. io represent a Teutonic eu. The primary 

+ An -i stem, like Engle, cf, Sievers, A. S. Grammar, § 264. 



184 FINN 

form of the word must have been * Eutan- and Bede's 
Juti would point to a stem *Eutia-y which is probably 
the same as that underlying the form Ytum in Widsith. 

From *Eutan would regularly develop O.N. Jotar 
and original O.E. * Eotan. Juti and Eotan are analogous 
forms to Frisii and Fresones which exist alongside of one 
another. 

Molier has brought an objection against this explana-. 
tion on the ground that the Danish word Jydir, which is 
the modern name for the inhabitants of Jutland, points 
to a form with original initial j. But it is difficult to 
■understand how this can be, for initial j is always lost 
in Scandinavian languages. It seems more probable that 
the Danish form Jydir is due to a compromise between 
two forms Jotar and * YtiVy the latter of which would 
correspond to the A.S. Yte. 

In the Finn episode, Hnaefs men are spoken of 
indiscriminately as Eotena and as Danes ("Dene," Beo. 
1. 1-090) and vassals of King Healfdene, a Danish king. 
This is somewhat curious, but it should be noted that 
the singer was telling his story at the court of a Danish 
king, which might well account for his desire to ascribe 
the prowess of Hnaef and Hengest to vassals of Healfdene. 

In the Fragment the nationality of Hnaef and Hen- 
gest and of their followers is not designated in any way. 

IV. Historical Background of the Finn saga. 

The sole link, by which we can in any way connect 
the Finn saga with history, lies in Beo. 1. 1069, where 
Hnaef is described as a warrior of the Danish king 
Healfdene. Healfdene was the father of Hrothgar, in 



FINN 185 

whose reign the events described in the first part of 
Beowulf took place, and from Gregory of Tours' Chronicle 
we are enabled to assign these events to some date early 
in the sixth century. Hygelac's expedition against the 
Franks and Frisians took place probably about the year 
520* 

Hrothgar the Dane was reigning then in the early 
years of the sixth century. He was an old man, and had 
been king for many years (11. 1769-70). From this we 
conclude that Heaifdene, who was the father of Hrothgar, 
and under whom Hnaef and Hengest flourished, must 
have been reigning about the middle of the fifth century. 

As we cast about for something whereby we may 
further link this curious story of the Finn saga to known 
historical events, the question naturally arises whether 
Hengest of the Finn saga can possibly be identical with 
the familiar Hengest who, along with his brother Horsa, 
was one of the first Teutonic invaders of Britain. Ac- 
cording to Bedef and the A. S. Chronicle, in the year 
449 A.D. Hengest and Horsa, who are called Juti or Jutae, 
came to Britain with a band of warriors at the invitation 
of the British king Wyrtgeorn or Vurtigernus (Vortigern). 
Nennius, in the Historia Britonum, § 3, dates the coming 
of the Saxons in the year 428-9, and differs from Bede 
and from the A. S. Chronicle in the reason which he 
assigns for their coming. Three ships, he says, were 

* According to this Chronicle, the expedition of Chochilaicus took 
place between the years 512 and 520. The invaders were defeated by 
Theodoric of the Franks and his son Theodobert. Now Chlodovech 
(Clovis), the father of Theodoric, was born in 466; it is therefore 
scarcely possible that he should have had a grandson of age to fight 
much earlier than. 520. 

t Hist. Ecclee. i, 14 f., ii, 5. 



186 FINN 

driven into exile from Germany, and came to Britain 
under Hengest and Horsa. 

In support of the theory of the identity of -the two,, 
the following considerations might be urged : — 

1. The two Hengests were more or less contemporary 
with one another. According to Bede's chronology, the 
Jutae came to Britain under Hengest and Horsa in 
449 A.D. ; from the evidence of Beowulf we learn that 
the Hengest of the Finn saga must have been alive about 
the middle of the fifth century. 

2. Both warriors seem to have belonged to a tribe 
of the same name, i.e. if we take the Eotena of the Finn 
episode to refer to the men of Hnaef and Hengest, which 
is on the whole the more probable interpretation. Bede* 
calls the invaders of Kent under Hengest and Horsa J^t^^; 
and it has been shown that these two forms are derived 
from the same stem, and are probably the same word. 

3. Nennius speaks of Hengest and Horsa as exiles 
from their own country. If, as is hinted in Beowulfy 
Hengest made terms with Finn after the death of Hnaef, 
and indeed became his vassal (cf 11. 1085-1091, 1143- 
1144), such a discreditable action might well make it 
impossible for him ever to show his face again in his own 
country f. 

4. The story of Finn and Hengest must have been 
very familiar to the mind of the person from whom 
Nennius derived his genealogy of Hengest and Horsa : 
for in this genealogy we find that the name of Folcwald 
has slipped in, as father of Finn the mythical ancestor 

* Hist. Eccles. i, 15. 

t Cf. account of Cynewulf's murder in A. S. Chron. under the 
year 755. 



FINN 187 

of Wodan, replacing that of Godwulf which is found in 
all other genealogies*. 

5. The name Hengest is an uncommon one. It is 
not found except in these two cases; and its occurrence 
side by side with that of Horsa looks very much as if it 
were some kind of nickname. 

All this evidence certainly tends in the same direction, 
but against it we must put the fact that the year 520, 
which is our only approximate date for the life of Beowulf, 
and after which he is reported to have reigned fifty years, 
is a very long way removed from 449, when, according to 
our hypothesis, the father of the man to whom Beowulf 
rendered a great service must have flourished. On the 
other hand, at the time when Beowulf killed Grendel, 
Hrothgar is spoken of as a very old man ; this must have 
been several years before Hygelac's fatal expedition to the 
Rhine, as is evident from the fact that after Hygelac's 
death his son Heardred was old enough to reign, whereas, 
on the occasion of Beowulf's victorious home-coming after 
slaying Grendel, Queen Hygd is described in terms which 
indicate that her marriage was still of very recent date. 

Taking, however, everything into account, the balance 
of probability seems on the whole in favour of accepting 
the Hengest of the Finn saga as the same Hengest who 
later on sought a new home across the seas in Britain. 

The identity is far from complete, but the alternative 
of such a curious and extensive coincidence of names 
and events in wholly different versions is one not easily 
accepted. 

* Compare list of genealogies in Appendix ii. 



CHAPTER YI 

DEOR* 

The first two strophes of Deor (11. 1-13) give in very 
compressed form the story of the Weland saga. The 
reference contained in the third strophe is unknown. 
There is not sufficient ground for associating it with 
certain events of the Ermanric saga as Grein has proposed 
doing-[-. The most probable translation of the lines 
(14-16) is : "Many of us have heard that Geat's affection 
for Maeth-hilde was boundless, so that his anxious love 
robbed him entirely of sleep J." We may compare this 
with what is said of the God Frey in SkirnismdL Frey 
had for long nourished a hopeless passion for a maiden 
named Gerda (Gerdr). After much persuasion, the maiden 
gave her consent to his suit, on the condition that he 
should wait for a certain length of time before gaining 
her. During this time of waiting, Frey's impatience and 
longing were so great that he could not rest for a moment, 
and at night all sleep went from him. 

* For a description of the poem cf. Introductory Chapter. 

t Cf. Grein, Sprachschatz z. d. Bibl. der ags. Poesie, under Maeth. 

X "We thaet maeth hilde mongo gefrugnon: 

Wurdon grundlease Geates frige, 
Thaet him seo sorglufu slaep alle binom." 



DEOR 189 

The name Maeth-hilde is quite unknown : that of Geat 
is found at the head of the older English genealogies. It 
is possible that the Geat of Deor may be identical with 
the Geat who is represented as the divine ancestor of 
the O.E. kings, and there may be also some significance 
in the fact that a similar story to that told of him in 
Deor, is in Skirnismdl told of Frey, the divine ancestor of 
the Danish kings*. 

The fourth strophe appears to contain an obscure 
allusion to the Ostrogothic saga-cycle of Ermanric and 
Dietrich. It may be translated thus : " Dietrich held the 
castle of the Maerings for thirty years : that was known to 
manyf." 

According to German hero saga|, Dietrich of Bern was 
exiled from Italy by his uncle Ermanric, and was driven 
to take refuge at the court of the Hunnish king Attila» 
He remained with the Huns for thirty years, before he 
succeeded in regaining his inheritance. Maeringaburg as 
a place name is unknown, but the natural inference from 
these lines is that it was the name of some castle where 
Dietrich lived during the years of his exile, and that it 
was therefore probably situated in Hunnish territory. In 
a fragmentary Lay of Theodoric the Goth^ which is 
inscribed on an ancient runic stone in East Gotland, 
Sweden, Theodoric (Dietrich) is called "Prince of the 

* Some scholars think that the name Gapt, which heads the Gothic 
genealogies in Jordanes, is a corruption of Gaut, and is identical with 
the Geat of the English genealogies. It seems very doubtful whether 
this emendation is correct, for in Jordanes' orthography the name 
corresponding to Geat would be Got. 

t " Theodric ahte thritig wintra 

Maeringa burg: thaet waes monegumcuth." 

X Dietrich's Flucht, Raberischlacht, Nibelungenlied, &c. 

§ Corpus Poeticum Boreale, i, 59. 



190 DEOR 

Maerings " {skati Maringa) : this is the only other known 
occurrence of the name. 

Strophe V is a clear reference to Ermanric, its dis- 
cussion will therefore be reserved for the chapter on the 
Ostrogothic cycle. 

Strophe VI, in which the poet relates some details of 
his own career, bears upon the Heodeninga, or Hildesaga, 
to a discussion of which, with that of the Wei and saga, it 
is proposed to devote this chapter, 

(a) HiLDE SAGA. 
I. HiLDE SAGA IN OlD ENGLISH. 

I. Deor, 11. 35 ff. 

"Thaet ic bi me sylfum secgan wille, 
thaet ic hwile waes Heodeninga scop, 
dryhtne dyre : me waes Deor nama. 
^hte ic fela wintra folgath tilne, 
holdne hlaford, 6th thaet Heorrenda nu, 
leothcraeftig monn, londryht gethah, 
thaet me eorla hleo aer gesealde. 

Thaes ofereode, thisses sw^ maeg"^!" 

Waldere, B, 11. 8, 9. 

"Thaes the hine of nearwum Nithhades maeg, 
Welandes beam, Widia tit forlett." 

Widsith, 1. 21. 
t"Hagena weold Holmrygum and Heoden Glommiim." 

^ " This I myself will say, that I was for a time court poet of the 
Heodeningas, dear to my lord, Deor was my name. I had a good office 
and a gracious lord for many years, until now Heorrenda, a man skilled 
in poetry, has received the domain with which the king formerly pre- 
sented me." 

f " Because that from danger Nithhad's kinsman, Weland's son 
"Widia did rescue him." 

X "Hagena ruled oyer the Holmrygas and Heoden over the Glommas." 



DEOR 191 

II. Other Authorities for Hilde saga. 
Skdldskapermdl, Ch. L. 
Fornaldar Sggur i, Sgrlapattr. (pp. 391 ff.). 
Saxo Grammaticus. 
Gudrun. 
Vglsungasaga. 

Skaldsk. 
(Ch. L.) "There was a battle called the storm or 
shower of the Hjadningar, and the weapons of the 
Hjadningar were firebrands or staves. And thus runs 
this story : A king who was called Hggni had a daughter 
named Hild ; a king named Hedin, the son of Hjarranda, 
carried her off as spoil after a battle : at that time Hggni 
had gone to the assembly of kings. But when he heard 
that his kingdom was harried and his daughter taken 
away, he set out with his army after Hedin, and learned 
that he had sailed northwards along the coast. When 
king Hggni came to Norway he learned that Hedin had 
sailed across the sea to the west ; then Hggni sailed after 
him, right to the Orkney islands, and when he came to 
the one which is called Haey there were Hedin and his 
men. Then Hild went to meet her father and offered 
him peace on behalf of Hedin; on the other hand she 
said that Hedin was ready to fight, and Hggni need 
expect no quarter from him. Hggni answered his 
daughter curtly, so when she met Hedin, she told him 
that Hggni did not wish for peace, and bade him prepare 
for the combat : and so both of them prepared to go up 
to the island and to lead on their men. Then Hedin 
called to Hggni his kinsman and offered him peace and 
much gold as expiation of his crime. Then Hggni 



192 DEOR 

answered : * You offer me this too late, if you are anxious 

to make peace, because now I have drawn from the sheath 

Dainsleif, the sword which the dwarfs made, which shall 

be death to a man each time it is bared, and it never fails 

at a blow, and the wound which it inflicts never heals/ 

Then Hedin answered : * You boast there of your sword, 

but not of the victory : I call that a good (sword) which 

never fails its master/ Then they began the combat 

which is called the battle of the Hjadningar; and they 

fought that whole day, and in the evening the kings 

went to their ships. But in the night, Hild went to the 

battle-field, and by her magic arts restored to life all 

those that were dead : and the next day the kings went 

to the field and fought, and likewise all those that fell on 

the first day. Thus the battle continued one day after 

another, so that all the men who fell and all the weapons 

which lay on the field were turned to dust. But when it 

dawned, all the dead men stood up and fought, and all 

the weapons were renewed. Thus it is said in poems 

that it will be with the Hjadningar until the end of the 

world/' 

Saxo Grammaticus. 

(v, 158-160.) Hedin (Hithinus) was a prince of an 
important Norwegian tribe, who fell in love by hearsay with 
Hild (Hilda) the daughter of Hggni (Hdginus) a Jutish 
chieftain. Hedin's love was returned by the maiden, who 
had heard of his prowess, and when the two met their 
passion for one another knew no bounds. 

Soon after this, Hedin and Hggni resolved to make 
a raid together. Now Hggni was a big man of a fierce 
disposition, while Hedin was short of stature and very 
comely in looks. Before starting on their expedition, ^ 



DEOR 193 

Hggni betrothed his daughter to Hedin, and the two 
chieftains swore an oath that if either of them should 
be killed, his death should be avenged by the sword 
of the other. The raid proved, however, successful, 
and Hedin and Hggni returned home, having won 
a great battle off the Orkneys, and captured a number 
of ships. 

But certain slanderous tongues accused Hedin to 
Hggni of having seduced his daughter before they were 
betrothed, which was at that time counted a great crime. 
Hggni believed the report and collected a fleet in order to 
attack He3in who was busy collecting tribute on behalf 
of King Frodi (Frotho) from the Slavs. As the result of 
the battle which took place between them, Hggni was 
defeated and retired to Jutland. 

By this action, Hedin and Hggni broke the peace 
which had been instituted by Frodi. The king enquired 
into the cause of the quarrel between the two princes, and 
as no satisfactory settlement could be arrived at, he 
decreed that the question should be decided by single 
combat. In the duel which ensued, Hggni, by reason of 
his superior size and strength, had the advantage ; but he 
spared Hedin out of kindness, for in these times it was 
counted a shameful action to deprive a weaker adversary 
of his life. 

Seven years afterwards, Hedin and Hggni met again 
in battle and wounded each other so that they both died. 
It is said that Hilda longed so ardently for her husband 
that she each night restored to life by her spells those 
who had fallen in the battle, in order that they might 
renew their struggle the next day. 

c. 13 



194 DEOR 

SORLApATTR. 

The Introduction to the Sgrlapdltr is a page out of 
Norse mythology : the argument is briefly as follows : — 

Loki robbed Freyja of a necklace which the dwarfs 
had made for her, and gave it to Odin. When Freyja 
demanded her necklace from Odin, he refused to give it 
up except on condition that Freyja should bring about 
a strife between two kings, each of whom had twenty 
kings under him. The fight between these two kings 
was to be ordered in such a way that those who fell 
should rise up at once and fight again, until some 
Christian man should be brave enough to enter into the 
battle and bring it to an end. 

The Sgrlapdttr relates how these conditions were 
fulfilled, and how the Goddess Freyja thus regained her 
necklace. 

The narrative of the Sgrlapditr, in so far as it affects 
Hedin and Hggni, is the following : 

Hggni was son of Halfdan, king of Denmark, and his 
friend and brother-in-arms was Sgrli, son of Erling, king 
of Uppland in Norway. Sgrli was killed by certain 
vikings of the Baltic. On hearing of this, Hggni sailed 
to the Baltic in order to avenge the death of his friend. 
He there conducted a most successful campaign, and 
returned home having conquered and brought into sub- 
jection, it was said, no less than twenty kings. 

There reigned at that time in Africa (Serkland) a 
king named Hjarandi ; he had a son Hedin who was of 
great size and strength, and who had acquired great fame 
by his brave deeds. He had gone on campaigns against 
Spain and Greece and twenty kings paid him tribute. 



DEOR 195 

Hedin was once going through a forest, when passing he 
saw, seated in a clearing, a large, comely woman, who told 
him, in answer to his enquiry, that her name was Gondul*. 
They fell into conversation together, in the course of which 
Ggndul told Hedin that the only king in the world who 
could compare with him in prowess was Hggni of Denmark. 

Hedin determined, therefore, to seek out Hggni ; 
accordingly, when spring came, he set sail in a vessel with 
three hundred men, and after sailing for a whole year 
reached Denmark in the following spring. 

When Hggni heard of the arrival of this great 
monarch he made a feast in Hedin's honour. Afterwards 
the two kings rode out, and vied with one another in 
various feats of strength and skill, but they were in 
everything so equally matched that none could say 
which was the greater, notwithstanding that Hedin was 
considerably the younger of the two. Then they swore 
oaths of eternal brotherhood, and Hggni set out on an 
expedition, leaving Hedin at home to guard his kingdom, 
and his wife Hervgr, and his fair daughter Hild. One 
day while Hedin was walking in the woods, he saw, as 
before in Africa, the woman Ggndul seated in a clearing. 
She gave him a potion to drink which made him forget 
all that had happened in the past. She then told him 
that it was a blot on his honour to have no wife, while 
Hggni had already a wife of noble birth, and that the 
only way in which he could retrieve this disgrace was by 
carrying off Hild by force in her father's absence, and by 
killing her mother by crushing her on the rollers when he 
launched his ship. 

* Ggndul was in reality a Valkyrie, and was thus possessed of 
supernatural power. 

13—2 



196 DEOR 

Hedin went home, still under the influence of the 
drug, and followed the advice which Ggndul had given 
him. He prepared to set sail with Hild, and caused his 
boat to be launched over the body of Herv^r, her mother, 
in spite of Hild's entreaties that he should wait until her 
father's return, when he would receive freely that which 
he insisted on taking by force, namely, her hand in 
marriage. 

When everything was ready for their departure, Hedin 
went back to the wood, where he again found Ggndul. 
She gave him another potion, and he lay down and slept 
by her side. When he awoke he remembered as in a 
flash all that had happened, and realised the mischief he 
had done. Then he got up quickly and sailed away, 
taking Hild with him. 

When Hggni came home he was told that Hedin had 
carried off his daughter and his ship Halfdanamant, and 
had killed his wife by rolling the ship over her. Hggni 
was very angry, and immediately pursued Hedin with a 
fleet, but it always happened that Hggni reached in the 
evening the port from which Hedin had sailed the 
previous morning. He at last, however, succeeded in 
overtaking him at Haey in the Orkneys. 

When Hggni came near, Hedin spoke to him and told 
him that he had killed his wife and carried away his 
daughter while under the spell of evil witchcraft. In 
token of penitence, he therefore offered to restore to 
Hggni his daughter and the ship, with men and money in 
compensation, and promised to turn his back on northern 
lands for ever. Hggni replied that he had intended from 
the beginning to bestow Hild on Hedin in marriage, and 
that as far as that question was concerned there was < 



DEOR 197 

peace between them : but what he would not forgive was 
the murder of his wife, and he therefore bade Hedin 
prepare for battle. 

Then Hedin and Hggni and all their men fought and 
killed one another : but no sooner were they killed than 
they rose up and fought again. In this way the battle 
continued until Olaf Tryggvason* became king of Norway, 
when it was brought to an end by the intervention of one 
of his warriors, according to that which Odin had fore- 
ordained. 



M.H.G. Epic Gudrun. 

The saga underlying the M.H.G. epic Gudrun is 
undoubtedly the same as that which we find in Sgrlafidttr, 
and in the accounts of the story of Hedin and Hggni 
given by Saxo and Snorri. It is not proposed to enter 
upon a discussion of the relation to one another of the 
two parts of the Gudrun. The question whether the 
Gudrun saga grew out of the Hilde saga or whether it was 
of independent growth lies outside the limits of this essay, 
but a brief survey of the story of Hilde as contained in 
the Gudrun is sufficient to show that, taken by itself, it is 
merely a German version of the Scandinavian story of 
Hedin and Hggni. 

Hagen, king of Ireland, and his wife Hilde had a fair 
daughter Hilde. The report of Hilde's beauty reached 
King Hetel of the Hegelingen, who was therefore fired 
with a desire to win her as his wife. He knew, however, 
that Hagen was a cruel and fierce king, who would kill 

* Olaf Tryggvason reigned 995-1000: by this time the Norwegians 
had become Christians. 



198 DEOR 

any man whom he suspected of having designs on his 
daughter, and that there was therefore no hope of winning 
Hilde except by strategy. Hotel, therefore, gathered 
together from neighbouring countries a little band of chosen 
warriors willing to undertake the adventure, the chief of 
whom were Wate of Sturmland, Frute of Denmark, and 
Horand the singer. Hotel equipped a ship for them, and 
provided them with soldiers for their expedition. 

The envoys, on their arrival in Ireland, w^ere received 
as guests, and courteously treated by wild Hagen and 
Hilde his queen. They purported to be traders carrying 
rich merchandise, who had been exiled by King Hotel 
from their home in the land of the Hegelingen. The 
strangers gained great favour at Hagen's court, and 
Horand, by his sweet singing, succeeded not only in 
gaining secretly the love of Hilde for his master, but also 
in winning her consent to a plan for escape. 

The supposed traders then announced to Hagen the 
date of their departure, and the day before that which 
was fixed for setting sail they asked as a great mark of 
favour that Queen Hilde and her daughter might come 
and view the rich merchandise which they had in the 
ship. This request w^as granted, and when the two ladies 
came on board the ship with their following, the stratagem 
which had been planned was swiftly carried out. Hilde 
was separated from her mother, and with the utmost 
despatch anchor was weighed, and all sails were set for 
the land of the Hegelingen. Hagen gave chase, but over- 
took the fugitives only after they had arrived in Hotel's 
country. A great battle took place in which Hagen was 
in danger of his life. But Hilde interposed, and brought 
about a reconciliation between her father and Hotel. 



DEOR 199 

Hagen then gave his consent to the marriage of Hilde 
and Hetel, after which he left the land of the Hegelingen, 
and sailed back to Ireland. 

III. Comparison of Evidence with regard to the 

Hilde saga. 

The story of Hedin and Hggni, as derived from Scandi- 
navian sources and re-echoed in the mhg. Gudrun, forms 
a link between Deor 11. 35-41 and Wids. 1. 21, where the 
names Hagena and Heoden are found side by side. These 
two names are plainly identical with Hggni and Hedin, 
and their juxtaposition in Widsith may be taken as signi- 
fying that the poet knew of the story which connected 
them. The occurrence in Deor of the names Heodeningas 
and Heorrenda at once suggests a connection with the 
same story. 

In the Skdldsk. the battle between Hedin and Hggni 
is called Hjadinga vig, i.e. the fight of the Hjathnings, and 
in the German version of the saga (i.e. in Gudrun) Hetel 
(Hedin) is represented as ruling the Hegelingas, which 
seems to be merely a corruption of Hetelingas*. 

The cognate forms Heodeningas and Heoden 
(Hjactningar and Hectin), and the fact that in Widsith 
Heoden is said to have ruled a tribe called the Glommas"!*, 
would seem to indicate that Heodeningas (Hjadningar) 
was a dynastic rather than a tribal name. According 
to Saxo, Hedin (Hithinus) was prince of a Norwegian 

* It has been suggested by Jiriczek {Northern Hero Legends, p. 135) 
that the form Hegelingas arose through confusion with the Bavarian 
place-name Hegelingas, as the Gudrun epic in its present form is almost 
certainly of Austro-Bavarian origin. 

t Nothing is otherwise known of the existence of such a tribe. 



200 DEOR 

tribe, while Hggni (Hoginus) was a chieftain of the Jutes. 
According to Widsith, Hggni (Hagena) ruled the Holm- 
rygas, who are usually identified with the Ulmerugi, a 
tribe mentioned by Jordanes as living at the mouth of 
the Vistula. The account of Sgrlapditr, which represents 
HQgni as king of Denmark and overlord of all Danish 
lands, and Hedin as king of Africa, is so obviously invented 
to suit the purpose of the legend that it need not be 
considered. 

The accounts of Saxo, Skdldsk. and Sgrlapattr display 
remarkable unanimity in their outline of the story of 
Hedin and Hggni. They vary only in unimportant details, 
and in that SgrlaJ^attr, in addition to the rest of the 
story, gives an account of the treatment which Hild's 
mother underwent at the hands of Hectin. 

The German version of the story varies considerably, 
but the main facts, viz. the kidnapping of the princess and 
the pursuit of her father, are the same. The proof that 
we have here the same and not a similar story, is that 
the names of the characters correspond to those of the 
Scandinavian and O.E. versions*, while the respective 
characteristics of Hagen and Hetel correspond almost 
exactly to those of their Scandinavian prototypes. It 
should, however, be noted that while Horand, like the 
Heorrenda of Beor, is a court singer or scSp, Hjarandi 
is represented in Skdldsk. and in SQvlapdttr as the father 
of Heclin. 

* Hilde is identical with Hild, while Hagen, Hetel and Horand clearly 
correspond to O.N. Hggni, Hedin, Hjarandi, and O.E. Hagena, Heoden, 
Heorrenda, although the last-mentioned occurs in a corrupted form 
in O.E. 



DEOR 201 

IV. Historical Value of the Hilde saga. 

It is impossible to assign to the story of Hedin and 
Hggni its definite historical value. Though the facts on 
which it is based were of common enough occurrence in 
ancient times, yet the accumulation of circumstantial 
evidence with regard to this particular episode, and 
especially the correspondence of authorities, would seem 
to indicate that the story represented an actual historical 
incident. It may be said further that the extremely 
matter-of-fact nature of the reference to Heorrenda 
contained in Deor, 11. 35 ff., tells strongly against a 
mythical interpretation of the story. 

The never-ending struggle between the two kings is 
peculiar to the Scandinavian version of the story, and is 
undoubtedly a later poetic addition. (For another inter- 
pretation cf. however Miillenhoff, Z. f. d. A. Vol. xxx, 
pp. 217 ff., "Frija und der Halsbandmythus.") 



(6) W^LAND SAGA. 
I. W]ELAND SAGA IN O.E. 

Deor 11. 1-12. Lines 1-5, which form the first strophe 
of the poem, relate in language so obscure as to be at 
times almost unintelligible the hardships which Weland 
underwent at the hands of the King Nidhad, and especially 
how he was hamstringed by the king's orders. 

Strophe 2, i.e. 11. 8-12, picture the plight of Beadohild 
after she had been seduced by Weland : her fear because 
of the knowledge of her own pregnancy was aggravated 
by sorrow on account of the death of her brothers. 



202 DEOR 

II. Other Authorities for W^land saga. 

Vglundarqvicta. 
Thidirekssaga. 

VgLUNDARQVIDA. 

The three young fairy maidens, Olrun, Hladgud 
Svanbvit and Hervgralvit, flew to the North, and alighted 
on the shores of a lake. They were taken to wife by 
the three heroes Egil, Slagfid and Vglund (W^land) 
respectively. After seven years the maidens one day flew 
away during their husbands' absence from home. Egil 
and Slagfid skated southwards in order to try to find 
their wives, but Vglund remained at home hammering 
and forging golden rings in his smithy. 

On one occasion while Vglund was out hunting, King 
Nidud of the Njars, to whom he was well known, marched 
with a large following to Vglund's home in the Wolf dales. 
In the hall Nidud's men found seven hundred rings 
threaded on bast. These they unstrung and strung again 
with the exception of one which they took away with them. 

When Vglund returned he sat down to count his rings, 
and discovered at once that one of them was missing. 
He believed that his wife had returned during his absence 
and had taken the ring, and while sitting thinking over 
this strange occurrence he fell asleep. He awoke to find 
himself heavily fettered. This had been done by Nidud's 
soldiers. They dragged Vglund with them to the king's 
palace, where by Nidud's orders he was hamstringed in 
order to prevent his escape. 

Then Vglund was taken to the king's smithy at Sea- 
stead, and compelled to work for him there. The ring 
which had been previously stolen from him was given to 
Bgdvild (Beadohild), the king's daughter. 



DEOR 203 

While Vglund worked in King Niducf's smithy his one 
thought was how to revenge himself for the wrongs which 
he had suffered. He succeeded in enticing to his smithy 
Nidud's two sons, whom he murdered. Out of their eyes, 
teeth and skulls he made jewels and goblets for the king 
and queen, and for Bgctvild. 

After this, Bglvild, having broken her ring, brought 
it to Vglund to be repaired. Vglund took advantage of 
Bgdvild's visit to the smithy to seduce her, and to regain 
her ring, with which he was enabled to escape. 

He flew away, and left Bgdvild weeping for grief at 
her lover's departure, and from fear at the thought of her 
father's anger. 

Alighting on the castle wall, Vglund then mocked 
Niduct openly, and proclaimed aloud how he had murdered 
his sons and dishonoured his daughter. He then soared 
away, and Nidud in sorrow sent for Bglvild, who confirmed 
the truth of all that Vglund had said. 

Thidrekssaga*. 

(Chaps. 57-79.) fVelent was the son of the giant 
Vathe, who was born of King Wilkinus and a mermaid. 
He was apprenticed at first to a smith named Mimi, and 
afterwards to two dwarfs, through whose instruction he 
became the greatest of all living smiths. 

Velent escaped from the dwarfs, and after tossing on 
the sea for eighteen days in a hollow tree-trunk which 
served him as a ship, he arrived in Jutland, which was 
ruled by a king named Nithung. He was well received 

* Saga Thithriks Konungs af Bern, ed. C. R. Unger, Christiania, 
1853. German transl. by F. H. v. d. Hagen : Altdeutsche u. Altnordische 
Heldensagen. Wilkina- u. Nifiunga Saga. Breslau, 1872. 

t Proper names are here given as in the German translation. 



204 DEOR 

by Nithung, who gave him an office about his table (to 
wit, the charge of three knives); he hid, for the time 
being, his tree-trunk with all that it contained. 

After a time Velent lost one of the king's knives ; in 
the absence of Amilias, the royal smith, Velent went to 
his forge, and forged a new knife exactly like the old one. 
But this knife was sharper and better than any which 
Amilias had ever made, as Nithung discovered as soon as 
he used it. Amilias was angry that the work of another 
should be preferred to his. He boasted that he was as 
good a smith as Velent, and demanded that an opportunity 
should be given for them both to make public trial of 
their skill. To this King Nithung agreed. Amilias then 
offered to produce in twelve months' time a suit of armour, 
the strength of which should be tested by the blows of a 
sword to be forged by Velent in the same length of time. 

For the whole of the twelve months Amilias was busy 
forging his armour, while Velent took less than half the 
time to make his sword, Mimung, although he forged and 
re-forged it three times before the temper of the blade 
satisfied him. When the day of the test at last arrived 
Amilias put on the armour which he had made and strode 
proudly through the market place : but Velent took 
Mimung, and standing behind Amilias, he placed the 
sword on the crest of the helmet, and pressed downwards. 
He then asked Amilias what his sensations were. Amilias 
answered that he felt as if cold water were trickling down 
his back. Velent told him to shake himself, and when 
Amilias did so, he fell apart into two bits, and so died. 

After this, Velent's fame as a smith spread throughout 
all Northern lands : he was known amongst the Vaeringiar 
(says the saga) as Volond. 



DEOR 205 

On one occasion King Nithung went out to attack 
another king. On the eve of the battle he remembered 
that he had left at home his stone of victory, without 
which it was vain to hope for success, and in despair, for 
he was very far from home, he promised to give the half 
of his kingdom and the hand of his daughter to anyone 
who would fetch him the stone by the next morning. 
This feat was accomplished by the smith Velent, but 
when he had obtained the stone and was on his way back 
to the king, he was stopped by Nithung's chamberlain, 
who attempted to make him give it up, at first by the offer 
of bribes, but finally by violence. Velent, however, slew 
the chamberlain and most of his men, reached the king 
with his prize before the battle had begun, and recounted 
to him all that had happened. Nit hung, glad of any 
excuse whereby he might avoid fulfilling his promise, 
rebuked Velent severely for having killed his chamberlain, 
and drove him away without any reward. But owing 
to the stone of victory he won the battle and returned 
home after bringing his campaign to a successful close. 

After a time Velent appeared at King Nithung's court 
in the disguise of a cook, and attempted to murder the 
king and his daughter by putting poison in their food. 
This was discovered, and as a punishment for his evil 
designs, NithuDg ordered Velent to be lamed ; but out 
of admiration for his skill, he gave the cunning smith 
silver and gold and a smithy in which to work. 

Velent was, however, still intent on his revenge, and 
one day he enticed the king's daughter to his smithy, and 
seduced her. Shortly afterwards he succeeded in persua- 
ding the king's two young sons to pay him a visit, and 
them he murdered. Of their skulls he made a drinking- 



206 DEOR 

cup for the king, and out of their bones he fashioned all 
sorts of table utensils for the king's use. No suspicion 
fell on the smith with regard to the murder, on account 
of his clever ruse of making the boys walk backwards into 
his smithy after a fresh fall of snow, so that their foot- 
prints appeared to lead in the opposite direction. 

After thus accomplishing his revenge, Velent made for 
himself a skin of feathers in order to escape from Nithung. 
Before he flew away, he lit on the highest tower of the 
king's castle, and proclaimed aloud the crimes which he 
had committed, namely the seduction of the princess, and 
the murder of her two brothers. He told the princess 
that he had left behind in his smithy armour and weapons 
which he had forged for the son whom she should bear 
him. This son was afterwards the famous Vithga (Ger. 
Witig, Wids. Wudga). 

Ill & IV. Discussion of evidence regarding the 
W:eland saga, and of the Historical Value 
of the saga. 

The Weland saga is of Saxon origin, as has been shown 
by Jiriczek (D. H. S. i, pp. 11-54), but it quickly spread 
through all Teutonic countries, and even filtered through 
into Romance literature, for we find an old French version 
of the saga in addition to the many others which exist; 
in fact, no saga has been more popular or more widely 
cultivated than the Weland saga from early times up 
till almost the present day. In the literatures of all early 
Teutonic peoples, the description of any weapon or armour 
as the work of Weland was the highest praise which could 
be bestowed on it, and a sure criterion of its worth. As 



DEOR 207 

late as the eighteenth century there was an English 
tradition concerning the famous Wayland-Smith which 
was localised in Berkshire, where a certain prehistoric 
grave still goes by the name of Wayland-Smith's cave. 

The three authorities which are of the greatest im- 
portance in a consideration of the Weland saga are the 
three which have just been quoted, viz. O.E. Deor, O.N. 
Vglundarqvi^a, and L.G. Thid^rekssaga ; the first two 
because their evidence is of great antiquity, and because 
they are evidently closely connected with the original 
Saxon version of the saga; the third because, although 
late in date, it grew up on Low German soil in the very 
home of the Weland saga, where the traditions concerning 
the cunning smith lived on through the centuries and are 
still alive at the present day. 

From a consideration of these three authorities we 
seem forced to the conclusion that there is, in the case of 
the Weland saga, less probability of the existence of an 
historical background for the events described than in 
the case of almost any other saga. Of course, the possible 
existence of an historical character, the prototype of the 
famous smith Weland, cannot be denied, and in favour of 
his historicity it may be noted that in the Th^s. he is 
represented as the father of Witig (O.E. Wudga, Widia), 
a warrior of Ermanric, whose actual existence we have no 
reason to doubt. But the fact that the story of Weland 
has been known and localised in so many different 
countries, and the existence from the most ancient 
times of similar stories in connection with legendary 
smiths of other lands, are both circumstances which speak 
strongly against the probability of the saga having had 
an historical basis. 



208 DEOR 

Jiriczek explains the saga as the mythical expression 
of the wonders of the metal age superseding the former 
age of stone. This explanation seems quite an adequate 
one, as it can easily be imagined that there should at first 
appear to be something diabolical in the new inventions 
which the discovery of the action of fire on metal made 
possible, and that this strange power and its effects should 
be personified in the figure of the cunning smith and 
malignant spirit Weland. Such a myth would from its 
nature be common to all peoples. According to Grimm* 
and Kogelf the name Weland is altogether symbolical, and 
is either a participial formation connected with O.N. 
vel == "skill," "cunning," or a compound welwand {wand = 
G. gewandt) = "versed in cunning works." It is, however, 
equally possible that the word Weland is connected with 
Vulcanus, the corresponding figure of Roman mythology. 
The story of Gyges in classical mythology or folklore also 
offers many parallelisms. 

* Gram, i, 462. f Ltg. i, 1. 100 f. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE. 

The important position occupied in ancient Teutonic 
literature — especially in Scand. and mhg. records — by the 
tribe of the Burgundians, justifies a somewhat fuller 
treatment of the references made to them in the O.E. 
poems than might be otherwise deemed necessary. It 
has been found convenient to group the discussion of the 
Burgundians with that of the Waldere saga, as the two 
stand in partial relation to one another. 

(a) The Burgundians. 
I. References to the Burgundians in O.E. Poems, 

(a) Waldere, Frag. A, 11. 25 ff., in which Hildeguth 
encourages her lover Waldere to do battle with Guthhere, 
who without due cause has come out to attack him. 

(6) Frag. B, a dialogue between Waldere and Guth- 
here which takes place just before the combat, and in 
which the latter is addressed as Wine Burgenda, i.e. 
" Friend of the Burgundians." 

(c) Wids. 1. 19. Burgendum (weold) Gifica. 

c. 14 



210 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

1. 65 : 

"And mid Burgendum, thaer ic bedg geth4h : 
me thaer Gdthhere forgeaf glaedlicne m^ththum 
songes to laene : naes thaet saene cyning*." 

II. Foreign Authorities containing Evidence 
WITH regard to the Burgundians. 

Historical. Pliny (the elder). 
Ptolemy. 

Ammiaaus Marcellinus. 
Prosper of Aquitaine (Migne, Patrologia, 

Vol. I, 51). 
Prosper Tiro (Recueil des Historiens des 

Qaules. Bouquet. Paris, 1739). 
Idatius. (Migne, Patrol. 1. 51.) 

' (C. Mtiller. Fragmenta 



Olympiodorus 
Priscus 



Historicorum Grae- 
corum. Vol. IV.) 



Socrates. 

Lea) Burgundionum (Pertz. Mon. Germ. 

Leg. Vol. iii, 533.) 
Cassiodorus. 

Legendary. Edda Poems. 
Prose Edda. 
Vglsungasaga. 
Nihelungenlied, and others. 

* " I have been among the Burgundians, where I received a ring 
(bracelet). There Guthhere gave me the bright treasure in reward for 
my poem. He was not a slothful king." 



THE BQRGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 211 

III & lY. The Burgundians in History. 

The earliest known reference to the Burgundians is 
made by the elder Pliny {Nat Hist, iv, 99) who wrote 
about the year 79 A.D. He classes the Burgundians with 
the Goths as part of the Vandili, and therefore an eastern 
tribe*. 

Ptolemy, writing in the second century, places the 
Burgundians between the Vistula and the Suebos 
(Warnow ?)"|-. 

Ammianus (xxviii, 5), writing about 880 A.D., speaks 
of the Burgundians as occupying the upper half of the 
Main basin during the second half of the fourth century. 
During the reign of Valentinian I (364-375), the 
Burgundians were allied with the Romans against the 
Alemanni. 

The Burgundian language had affinities with Bavarian, 
Alemannic, and Gothic. 

The Burgundians crossed the Rhine, and settled in 
and around Worms, probably after the year 406, which 
was the date of the great southerly migration of Vandals 
and Suebi. 

According to Prosper of AquitaineJ (c. 450) and 
Cassiodorus§ the Burgundians gained a part of Gaul 
beside the Rhine in the year 413, at which time they 

* " Germanorum genera quinque: Vandili, quorum pars Burgodiones, 
Varinnae, Charini, Gutones." 

t .../^xpi Tod 'Lvri^ov Trora/AoO, koI to tCov BovpyovpiQv ret iipe^rjs koI 
fi^XP'' "^^^ OiiuTToiXa KarexovTcav. 

X Prosper of Aquitaine, under year 413 : *' Burgundiones partem 
Galliae propinquantem Rheno obtinuerunt." 

§ Cassiodorus, under year 413 : " Burgundiones partem Galliae Rheno 
tenuere conjunctam." 

14—2 



212 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

were already Catholic Christians, whereas all the other 
Christian tribes amongst the Teutons were Aryans. 

Olympiodorus* relates that in 412 Gyntiarios, a 
prince of Burgundy, and Goar, an Alan, set up Jovinus as 
Emperor. 

The Burgundian kingdom on the Rhine lasted until 
436 or 437, when the Burgundians were almost annihilated 
by the Huns under Attila. Previous to this, however, in 
435, the Burgundians under their king, Gundicarius, were 
defeated by, and obtained terms of peace from, the Romans 
under Aetiusf. 

SocratesJ, in an undated entry, says that the Bur- 
gundians made a successful attack on the Huns after the 
death of the Hunnish king Up tar. This may have been 
the immediate cause of the overwhelming defeat inflicted 
on the Burgundians by Attila shortly afterwards §. 

* Olympiodorus Thebaeus, under year 412 (Latin transl.) : "Jovinus 
apud Moguntiacum, Germaniae altering urbem, studio Goaris Alani et 
Guntiarii Burgundionum praefecti, tyrannus creatus est." 

t Paulus Diaconus {De episc. Metens.) : '* Eo igitur tempore... Attila 
rex Hunnorum omnibus belluis erudelior, habens multas barbaras 
nationes suo subjectas dominio, postquam Gundigarium, Burgundio- 
num regem, sibi occurrentem protriverat." 

X Socrates: "Exinde fidente animo adversus Hunnos progress! 
(Burgundiones) sunt : nee spes eos fefellit. Etenim rege Hunnorum, 
cui nomen erat Optar, prae nimia ciborum ingluvie nocte quadam 
suffocate, Burgundiones in Hunnos duce destitutes subito irruentes,. 
paucique plurimos aggressi, victoriam reportarunt. Cum enim ipsi 
tria duntaxat hominum millia essent Hunnorum decern circiter millia 
interfecerunt." 

§ Prosper of Aquitaine, under year 435: "Eodem tempore Gundi- 
carium Burgundionum regem intra Gallias habitantem Aetius bello 
obtinuit pacemque ei supplicanti dedit, qua non diu potitus est. 
Siquidem ilium Hunni cum populo atque stirpe sua deleverunt." 

Idatius, under year 435: "Burgundiones qui rebellaverant aRomanis. 
duce Actio debellantur." 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 213 

Some Burgundians seem to have fought on the Roman 
side under Aetius in the great battle against Attila in 451 
(cf. Jordanes, Ch. 36). The remnant of the people found 
their way south to the Rhone valley, where they formed 
a new kingdom. According to Prosper Tiro* they ob- 
tained Savoy in the year 443. For nearly a century the 
Burgundians managed to retain their independence in 
the face of constant struggles with the Franks and 
Ostrogoths, but in 584 they were finally defeated by the 
sons of Chlodovech (Clovis) and their territory became 
incorporated with the kingdom of the Franks. 



The Burgundians in Saga. 

In addition to the historical evidence which has just 
been quoted, we have access to abundant information 
regarding the Burgundians in the mhg. Nihelungenlied 
and in the O.N. poems and sagas. The subject of all of 
these alike is the destruction of the Burgundians at the 
hands of Attila, an event which offered plenty of scope 
for poetic and imaginative treatment. The story of the 
Burgundians was united in O.N., and afterwards in mhg., 
with the saga of the Volsungs, which celebrated the deeds 
of Sigurd (Germ. Siegfried) the hero and dragon-slayer of 
the North, a figure in many respects resembling Dietrich 
of Bern. 



* Prosper Tiro, under year 436: "Bellum contra Burgundionum 
gentem memorabile exarsit, quo universa gens cum rege per Aetium 
deleta." 

Idatius, under year 436 : " Burgundionum caesa viginti millia." 
Prosper Tiro, under year 443 : " Sabaudia Burgundionum reliquiis 
datar cum indigenis dividenda." 



214 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

It is beyond the limits of this essay to discuss the 
Scandinavian and German versions of the story of the 
Burgundians in their mutual relation. Quite possibly 
the groundwork of the story, which is the same in all 
accounts — namely, the luring of the Burgundians to the 
country of the Huns and the subsequent treachery of 
Attila — may be an historical account of the way in which 
the destruction of this people took place. We may, in 
any case, in view of the information contained in the 
works of various classical historians, accept the authority 
of the Nihelungenlied and of the O.N. records, that 
Gundaharius (Germ. Gunther, O.E. Guthhere) was leader 
of the Burgundians at the time of the catastrophe. Thus 
the historical references to the Burgundians up to the 
time of their incorporation with the Franks cover about 
four centuries. The first time that we hear of them they 
appear to have been situated in and around the basin of 
the river Oder, after which we find them migrating by 
slow stages across Europe, in a south-westerly direction* 
as far as Savoy, where they made their permanent home. 

Our chief source of information regarding the kings of 
the Burgundians is the Lex Burgundionum compiled by 
the lawgiver King Gundobad at the end of the fifth 
century. We can also rely to a certain extent on the 
evidence of O.N. and mhg. literary records. 

In the Lew Bui^g. the reference made by Gundobad to 
his ancestors is as follows : — 

'' Si quos apud regiae memoriae auctores nostros, id 
est Gibicam, Godomarem, Gislaharium, Gundaharium, 
patrem quoque nostrum, et patruum, liberos liberasve 
fuisse constiterit in eadem libertate permanent." All 
that we can gather from this as to the relationship 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 215 

of these four kings is that Gebica was earlier than 
the other three. In German saga literature Gunther 
(Gundaharius) and Giselher (Gislaharius) are brothers, 
and have a third brother Gemot : their father is 
Dankwart. 

In Scandinavian saga, Gjuki, king at Worms on the 
Rhine, has three sons, Gunnar, Hggni (Germ. Hagen) and 
Guttorm, but Guttorm is only a half-brother of the other 
two. According to the Waltharius of Ekkehart, Gibicho, 
" king of the Franks," has a son Gunther. 

Thus all saga literature dealing with the Burgundians 
agrees in representing three Burgundian princes, who 
perhaps correspond to Gundaharius, Godomar, and Gisla- 
harius, of the Lex Burg., as brothers, and sons of a king 
corresponding to Gebica of the Lex Burg. There is, 
however, no historical confirmation of this. 

Of these four kings mentioned in Gundobad's code, 
the figure of Gundaharius is by far the most prominent. 
Round him clusters the whole wealth of saga and story 
commemorating the glorious deeds of the Burgundians 
and their defeat by the Huns under Attila, through which 
the reign of Gundaharius was brought to an untimely 
end. 

After founding their new kingdom in the Rhone 
valley, the Burgundians were ruled by the aforementioned 
Gundobad, the compiler of the Lex Burg., who flourished 
at the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth 
centuries. Gundobad was succeeded by Sigisbert and 
afterwards by Gondomar. Under the latter prince the 
Burgundians were finally defeated by the sons of Chlo- 
dovech, and Gondomar himself abandoned his kingdom 
and fled to Italy. 



216 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

The allusion to the Vglsungasaga contained in Beowulf, 
11. 875-900*, may be mentioned at this point. The first 
part of the passage contains a reference to the exploits of 
Sigemund, and to Sigemund's nephew Fitela ; Sigemund 
is called Wdlses eafera (1. 897), which clearly identifies 
him with Sigmund, the son of Vglsung, and Fitela with 
Sigmund's son and nephew Sinfjgtli. The Beowulf 
passage proceeds to give an account of Sigemund's single- 
handed fight with a dragon : in all Scandinavian versions 
of the story, however, the hero of the dragon fight is not 
Sigmund, but his son Sigurd. 

Sigurd is represented, in German and Scandinavian 
sources alike, as a king possessing territory in the 
Netherlands, but we find no references to either Sigmund 
or Sigurd in historical records, and there is a general 
tendency to regard their figures as mythical. 

* Clark Hall's translation of the passage is as follows: "He related 
everything that he had heard men say of Sigemund, his deeds of valour, 
many untold things, the struggle of the Walsing (C.H. son of Waels), 
his wanderings far and wide, the feuds and treacheries — things that the 
sons of men knew nothing of save Fitela who was with him, when he, 
the uncle, would tell something of such a matter to his nephew as they 
had always been friends in need in every struggle, and had felled with 
their swords large numbers of the race of monsters. 

"There arose no little fame to Sigemund after his death-day, since he, 
hardy in battle, had killed the dragon, keeper of the hoard. Under the 
grey rock he, son of a prince, ventured the perilous deed alone, — Fitela 
was not with him. 

"Yet it befell him that the sword pierced through the wondrous snake, 
so that it, the sterling blade, stuck in the rock — the dragon died a 
violent death. By valour had the warrior secured that he might enjoy 
the ring-hoard at his own will; the Walsing (C.H. son of Waels) loaded 
a sea boat, bare the shining treasures into the bosom of the ship. Fire 
consumed the dragon. 

"In deeds of bravery he was by far the most renowned of adventurers 
among the tribes of men, and thus he throve erewhile." 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 217 

But, as has been pointed out by Mr Chadwick*, the 
traditions regarding Sigmund and his family cannot, on 
account of their great age, be lightly dismissed as mythical, 
although some elements in the story which is told of 
them — e.g. the fight with the dragon — are undoubtedly 
to be considered as such. In addition to the Beowulf 
reference, Sigmund and Sinfjgtli occur also in two of the 
Edda Poems {Helgakvidur Hundingshdna) which are 
entirely free from German influence, but here as in the 
Beowulf the name of Sigurd is not mentioned. In the 
Beowulf as we have seen (cf sup. Ch. ii, p. 121), Sigmund 
is brought into relation with Heremod, a Danish prince, 
and in Hyndlj. the two names are again found side by 
side. The natural inference from all this is : (1) that the 
association of Sigmund with Heremod must date from a 
very early time, while English and Scandinavian traditions 
were still influencing one another, and (2) that the 
information contained in the Beowulf about Sigmund and 
SinQgtli was therefore in all probability not due to late 
German influence, but was part of the body of tradition 
brought by our forefathers from their continental home. 
Although there is not conclusive proof of the actual 
existence of Sigmund and his family, the antiquity of the 
traditions concerning them gives them at least as valid 
a claim to historicity as any other characters of the 
Heroic Age : and since we have scarcely any knowledge 
of the course of events on the lower Rhine at the 
beginning of the fifth century, there is certainly not 
sufficient ground for doubting that such princes as 
Sigmund and Sigurd may actually have reigned there. 

* Op. cit. p. 148 f. 



218 THE BUKGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 



(b) Waldere saga. 

I. The only reference to the saga of Waldere in O.E. 
literature is contained in the epic fragment which bears 
his name. 

The foreign authorities which contain evidence with 
regard to this saga may be classified according to the 
three distinct versions of the saga which exist. They 
are as follows* : 

1. Alemannic version of the Waldere — or Walthari — 
saga which appears in 

(a) Ekkehart's Waltharius, ed. by V. Scheffel and 
A. Holder, Stuttgart, 1874; German transl. 
by H. Althof, Leipzig, 1896. 

(h) References in the Nihelungenlied and in Bite- 
rolf. 

(This is the version which appears in the O.E. Wal- 
dere.) 

2. Frankish version of the saga which appears in 

(a) Thid^rekssaga. 

(6) M.H.G. fragments of " Walther und Hilde- 
gunde," Z. f. d. A., Vol. ii, pp. 216 ff. 

(Reference in Austrian poem, "von dem tibelen weibe," 
Z. E. No. XXVIII, 3.) 

* For this classification, I am indebted to Symons' article "Die 
deutsche Heldensage" in Paul's Grundriss, Vol. iii. 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 219 

3. Polish version of the saga which appears in 

(a) Latin chronicle of Boguphalus (thirteenth 
century) Chronicon Poloniae Sommersherg. 
script, rer. Siles., Vol. ii, 37-39. 

{b) Polish chronicle (sixteenth century). 
(Here the saga has received additions altogether foreign 
to it in its German form : this version need not therefore 
be discussed in the present connection.) 

I. Alemannic Version of Walthari saga. 
A.S. Waldere. 

The A.S. Waldere consists of two fragments of what 
was either a ballad on the Walthari saga, or an epic poem 
in the same style as the Beowulf. Fragment A is a speech 
made by Hildeguth, who incited her lover Waldere to 
battle, while Fragment B is a dialogue between Waldere 
and Guthhere. 

The fragments translated into Modern English are as 
follows : 

A. " . . .incited him willingly. Assuredly the handi- 
work of W eland fails no man who can wield Miming the 
hard one. Often in the battle there fell, bloodstained 
and wounded, one warrior after another. Champion of 
Attila ! Let not yet thy courage fail on this day, let not 
thy prowess decline ! 

" . . .But the day is come when thou shalt assuredly do 
one of two, either shalt thou lose thy life, or thou shalt 
obtain lasting glory among men, son of Aelfhere ! By no 
means, my beloved, can I chide thee with words, that I 
have ever seen thee at the sword-play, through fear of 
any man, evade the combat, flee to the rampart and save 



220 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

thy life, although many enemies hewed thy shield with 
their bills. But thou didst ever seek further battle — 
didst pursue thy cause over the border (?) — therefore I 
feared thy destiny, that thou shouldst follow up the fight 
too bravely, the struggle with another man. Uphold thine 
honour by good deeds, while God's care is over thee ! 
Neither be thou anxious for thy sword ; to thee was the 
best of treasures given, for our help. With it thou shalt 
humble Gunther's pride, because he first began unright- 
eously to seek this combat. He refused the sword and 
treasures with many rings : now, deprived of both, he 
shall go from this battle to seek the ancient possession 
of which he is lord, or here first die, if he..." 

B. "' ...a better (sword) except this one, which I too 
have kept hidden in secret in its scabbard (stone-chest). 
I know that Theodoric wished to send it to Widia, and 
also great treasure of jewels with the sword, and to 
adorn with gold many other things with it (?), he received 
the reward long due, because that he, the kinsman of 
Nithhad, the son of Weland, Widia had delivered him 
from danger : he hastened forth over the territory of the 
giants.' Waldere spoke, the mighty amongst warriors: 
he had in his hands the consolation of battle, the gem 
of fighting bills, he spoke in these words : ' What, thou 
didst even think, friend of the Burgundians, that the 
hand of Hagen should do battle with me, and disable me 
for battle on foot. Take if thou dare, the hoary byrny, 
from the one weary in battle 1 Here on my shoulders 
lies (stands) the legacy of Aelfhere good and well-arched (?), 
adorned with gold, an honourable apparel for the noble 
prince whose own hand defends the treasure of his life 
against his enemies : it will not desert me when evil 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 221 

faithless kinsmen again make the attack, meet me with 
swords as ye did. But he can grant the victory, who is 
prompt and wise of counsel towards all that is good ; he 
w^ho believes in his holy help, in the assistance of God, 
will find it to the full, if he (i.e. God) remembers his 
previous merits : then must the great men distribute 
riches, and rule their possession...." 

The background of events underlying these two frag- 
ments is to be found in the Latin poem Waltharius, of 
the tenth century, written by the monk Ekkehart I of 
St Gallen. 

The argument of the poem is shortly as follows : 

Attila, the famous king of the Huns, whose home was 
in Pannonia, made an expedition against the Franks, and 
forced their king Gibicho* to render him tribute and hos- 
tages. Hagen was handed over by Gibicho as hostage, 
his own son Gunther being still too young. Hagen was 
of royal birth and of Trojan f origin, Troja being the fabu- 
lous home of the Franks. 

Attila continued his victorious progress through the 
land of the Burgundians and through Aquitaine. From 
Heriricus (O.H.G. Hererih), the king of the Burgundians^ 
who reigned in Chalon-sur-Saone, he obtained as a hostage 
his daughter Hildegund, and from Aelfhere, king of 
Aquitaine, his son Walther (Waltharius). Walther and 
Hildegund, although only children, were already betrothed 
to each other. 

* This is, of course, a mistake : for as we have seen (of. p. 215), 
Gibicho and Gunther [Lex Burg. Gebica, Gundaharius) were kings, 
not of the Franks, but of the Burgundians. Cf. also for older form 
of the saga, Wald. fragments where Guthhere is addressed as Wine 
Burgenda. 

t Cf. Nibelungenlied, Hagen von Tronje ; Thi^rekss. Hagen af Troja. 



222 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

The hostages fared well at the court of the Hunnish 
king, and were treated by Attila as if they were his own 
children. When Hagen and Walther grew up, they ex- 
celled in all manner of knightly accomplishments; each 
of them was entrusted with a high military command, 
while Hildegund became chief maiden in the household 
of the queen. 

But meanwhile Gibicho died, and was succeeded by 
Gunther, who refused to pay tribute to Attila; Hagen 
made this the opportunity to escape from the Hunnish 
court and to flee back to his own country. After Hagen's 
flight, Attila's queen was afraid that Walther might 
also attempt to escape, and advised her husband to 
marry him to a Hunnish maiden, in order that his 
interests and affections might be bound to the home of 
his adoption. The betrothal of Walther and Hildegund 
and their love for one another w^as not known at the 
Hunnish court. 

But Walther was warned by Hildegund of Attila's 
design, and the two arranged a plan for escape, which 
they carried out successfully, taking with them a quantity 
of treasure. When their flight was discovered, Attila 
offered a large reward to anyone who would capture and 
bring back the fugitives, but Walther s strength was 
known and feared, and no one could be tempted to set 
off in pursuit of him. Walther and Hildegund therefore 
continued their journey unmolested, until they reached 
Worms, the capital of Gunther, king of the Franks, where 
their identity was discovered by means of some strange 
fish with which Walther paid the ferryman who rowed 
them over the Rhine. Gunther, guessing who the stranger 
was, at once determined to follow him in order to rob him 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 223 

of his treasure, although warned by Hagen (who knew the 
strength of Walther's arm) that he would repent having 
done so. But to these warnings Gunther turned a deaf 
ear, for he regarded this as nothing short of a miraculous 
opportunity offered him to regain the tribute money which 
Attila had, for so many years, extorted from the Franks. 
With twelve chosen warriors, of whom Hagen, much 
against his will, was one, Gunther accordingly gave chase, 
and overtook Walther and Hildegund in the Vosges 
(Yosagus) Mountains (O.H.G. Waskenstein, Wasgenstein), 
where they halted to rest. Walther, who was encamped 
in a strong position, was not daunted by the array of 
warriors which Gunther had brought out against him. 
He spoke words of cheer and comfort to his gentle com- 
panion, who was terrified at the sight of so many armed 
men, and boasted that he could overthrow with ease in 
single combat any of the twelve except Hagen, whom he 
feared on account of their long acquaintance with each 
other's methods of warfare. 

Disregarding Hagen's final warning, Gunther then sent 
up one by one eight warriors, each of whom Walther killed. 
The position in which he was entrenched did not permit 
of his being attacked by more than one at a time. The 
remaining three warriors (for Hagen had sat apart the 
whole time, refusing to take any share in the fight), of 
whom Patafried, Hagen's nephew, was one, then attacked 
Walther with a trident: but they met with no better 
success than their predecessors, and were all slain. Thus, 
of all the Franks, only Gunther and Hagen were left 
alive. 

After many entreaties, Hagen yielded to Gunther's 
request that he would fight with him against Walther. 



224 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

His duty towards his king was the only consideration 
which weighed with Hagen and caused him to break 
the vows of brotherhood which he had sworn to Walther ; 
nothing else, not even the duty of avenging his slain 
kinsman, would have made him take arms against the 
friend of his youth. 

Gunther and Hagen determined to lure their enemy 
into open country before attacking him, and to effect this 
they made a ruse of flight and retired towards evening to 
a point some distance away. 

After a night's rest, Walther and Hildegund continued 
their journey. No sooner, however, had they left the 
shelter of the rocks and got into the open, than Walther 
was fiercely attacked by Gunther and Hagen. Walther 
reproached Hagen with having broken his oath of friend- 
ship, but Hagen defended his action as the just revenge 
for the death of a kinsman — namely Patafried. 

The struggle between the three was long and terrible. 
At last they could fight no longer, for Gunther had lost 
a leg, Hagen an eye, and Walther his right hand. The 
demands of honour having been thus satisfied, a recon- 
ciliation between the warriors took place, and Walther 
called on Hildegund, who in great fear had w^atched the 
battle from afar, to come and bind up their wounds. 
Then they made merry together over their injuries, and 
finally parted as friends and brothers. 

The Franks returned to Worms, while Walther and 
Hildegund journeyed home to Aquitaine without mishap. 
There they were married, and reigned in prosperity for 
thirty years. 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 225 

II. Frankish Version of Walthari saga. 

Mhg. fragment of the Poem Walther 
und Hildegimd*. 

At the point at which the fragment commences, 
Walther and Hildegund had escaped from the Huns and 
were on their way home to Langresf, where Walther's 
father Alter (O.E. Aelfhere) was king. They had been 
guided across the Rhine by Volker, whom Gunther had 
given them as an escort. Walther had sent messengers 
before him to Langres to announce his coming to his 
father and mother. When Alker and his queen heard 
these tidings they rejoiced, and made great preparations 
to receive their son and his bride. The messengers who 
brought the news of Walther's arrival also related how 
he had escaped from the Huns, and had slain those of 
them who came out in pursuit of him. 

After these things, Alker sent heralds all through his 
land to announce to his subjects that his son Walther was 
to be married to Hildegund of Arragon. The heralds rode 
to Engelland, Navarre, and Kerlingen, and after much con- 
sideration Walther also sent an invitation to his wedding 
to King Etzel. The news of the marriage was brought 
to King Gunther by Volker on his return from Langres. 

ThidrekssagaJ. 

Chaps. 241-244. King Attila reigned in Susat. He 

made an alliance with Erminrek, King of Pul (Apulia), and 

exchanged hostages with him. Attila sent to Erminrek his 

* Publ. in Z. f. d. A. Vol. ii, p. 216. 

t Langres is however represented by the poet as in Spain, and 
Walther is spoken of as " der Vogt von Spanige." 

Ij: German transl. by F. v. d. Hagen. Gf. sup. p. 203. 

C. 15 



226 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

nephew Osith, with twelve knights, while Erminrek sent to 
Attila his nephew Valtari of Vaskasteine with other twelve 
knights. Valtari was twelve years old when he came to 
Attila's court, and he remained there until he was nine- 
teen. After he had been there a year, Attila received as 
a. hostage Hildegunn, the daughter of the Greek Earl Ilias. 
Valtari and Hildegunn fell in love with each other, with- 
out the knowledge of Attila, and one day, while Attila and 
all his court were feasting, they conferred in secret and de- 
termined to escape. The next morning they fled, taking 
much of Attila's treasure with them. 

When Attila discovered the trick that had been played 
upon him, he despatched twelve warriors, amongst whom 
was Hogni, the son of Alldrian, in pursuit of the fugitives. 
Valtari and Hildegunn were quickly overtaken, but Valtari 
fought with and killed eleven of the twelve warriors, Hogni 
being the sole survivor. The two sat down together to a 
meal of swine's flesh, after which they fought a second 
time : but Valtari put out Hogni's eye by hurling at him 
the backbone of the swine which they had eaten, where- 
upon the latter turned and fled back to Attila. 

Valtari and Hildegunn, however, continued their jour- 
ney to the court of Erminrek, where they were well received. 
They afterwards became reconciled to Attila by sending 
him rich gifts, 

III. Comparison of Different Authorities 

DEALING WITH WaLTHARI SAGA. 

It is not necessary for our purpose to enter upon a 
detailed comparison of the different versions of the Wal- 
thari saga given above ; the story is essentially the same 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 227 

in all its versions with regard to the main facts, namely, 
Walther s life as a hostage at the court of the Hunnish 
king Attila, his successful escape with Hildegund, a fellow- 
hostage, and their adventurous journey to the home of 
Walther's parents, at the end of which they were married. 
Peculiar to the Alemannic version of the saga is Walther's 
encounter with Gunther and his warriors, and to the 
Frankish version, the pursuit of Walther by the Huns, 
and his subsequent reconciliation to Attila. As in its 
representation of Gunther (Guthhere) as king of the 
Burgundians, so also in its description of Hildegund's 
(Hildeguth's) character, does the O.E. Waldere without 
doubt preserve an older tradition than Ekkehart's Wal- 
tharius. In the latter authority she is portrayed as a 
timid, shrinking maiden, terrified at the sight of fighting 
and of blood, and fearful for the safety of her beloved. 
This picture of Hildegund is clearly tinged by the medieval 
monastic ideal of feminine character : that of the O.E. 
Waldere bears a much more genuine and ancient imprint, 
for here Hildegund (Hildeguth) is the direct descendant 
of the Valkyries, a bold and warlike maiden, jubilating 
in her hero's lofty courage, and counting death but a little 
thing as compared with the gaining of enduring reputation 
in battle. 

IV. Historical Value of the Walthari saga. 

The story of Walther and Hildegund seems to bear 
the impress of a genuine historical narrative*, and there 
is no reason to doubt that the events which it relates 

* Heinzel has showed clearly {Wiener S. B. cxvii, 2) that the works 
of the historian Priscus supply plentiful parallels from Hunnish history 
■during the reign of Attila to all the events described in the story. 

15—2 



228 THE BUKGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

really took place. The most interesting question in con- 
nection with the saga, and one which has not as yet been 
satisfactorily solved, is that of the identity of Walther 
himself. Who and what was he ? 

In all accounts of the story of Walther his name is 
associated with the Waskenstein, or Vosges Mountains, 
which appears to have been the scene of his single-handed 
victory over Gunther and his warriors. According to 
the mhg. Walther and Hildegund, Walther's home was 
Langres in Haute-Marne, which lies in the N.E. of 
France, and is separated from Worms and the Rhine 
valley (through which Walther's journey led him) only 
by the Vosges Mountains. The Waltharius of Ekkehart, 
on the other hand, represents Walther as a prince of 
Aquitaine, and therefore presumably a Visigothic hero. 
But it is very improbable that anyone coming from 
Pannonia, the seat of the Huns in southern Austria- 
Hungary, to Aquitaine would travel via the middle Rhine 
and the Vosges Mountains ; Langres would be a far more 
fitting conclusion to such a journey. Moreover, it is 
possible that the idea of assigning to Walther a home 
in Aquitaine may have first arisen through verbal con- 
fusion. In a Wessobrunner codex of the eighth century 
we find WascSno ta^ = Aquitania, and it is not improb- 
able that this form underwent confusion with Waskenstein 
= Vosagus or Vosges Mountains, although the two are 
quite independent. On the whole, the existing evidence 
seems to point to the conclusion that Walther was not a 
Visis^oth. We have therefore to consider the alternative 
possibilities with regard to his home and nationality. 

The events of the Walthari saga belong to the first half 
of the fifth century, and in all probability to some date 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 229 

previous to 437, in which year Gunther, king of the 
Burgundians, who is an important figure in the story of 
Walther, was defeated and slain by the Huns. 

It is evident that Walther was not a Burgundian, 
else he would not have been engaged in hostilities with 
Gunther and Hagen. It is also improbable that he 
belonged to the Franks, whose conquest of and settle- 
ment in Gaul did not take place until the end of the 
fifth century*. The most probable alternative appears 
on the whole to be that Walther belonged to one of the 
tribes of the Yandili or Suevi, who began their great 
southerly migration from the banks of the Rhine about 
the year 406 A.D.f — a movement which ended only when 
they had passed over the Pyrenees. Some of the strag- 
glers amongst the emigrants may still have been in N.E. 

* In this connection, however, I am indebted to Mr H. M. Chadwick 
for a suggestion, well worthy of consideration, with regard to Walther's 
origin. Although the conquest of Gaul by the Franks was not accom- 
plished until the end of the sixth century, as early as the end of the 
third century there appear to have been some Frankish settlements on 
the west side of the Vosges Mts, in the neighbourhood of Langres 
(cf, Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstdmme, pp. 336, 582-84). 
Zeuss quotes Eumenius, who, writing to Constantius, says : " ita nunc 
per victorias tuas, Constanti Caesar invicte, quidquid infrequens Am- 
biano et Bellovaco et Tricasino solo, Lingonicoque restabat, barbaro 
cultore revirescit." These bands of Franks — Chamavi and Attuarii — 
had been transplanted by Constantius from the lands round the mouth 
of the Ehine. 

Now in Ekkehart's Waltharius, Gunther is called King of the Franks, 
while Hildegund is referred to as a Burgundian princess. At a later 
date both Langres and Chalon-sur-Saone were in the province of 
Burgundy, while Worms and the surrounding districts had passed into 
the hands of the Franks. It seems just possible that the names Frank 
and Burgundian in the story may have become transposed, and that 
whereas Gunther was in reality a Burgundian, Hildegund — and Walther 
her husband — were in reality Franks. 

t Cf. Zeuss, Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstdmme, pp. 449 £E. 



230 THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 

Gaul (Langres) as late as 485, which may be taken as the 
approximate date of Walther's flight from the Huds, and 
the subsequent settlement in Spain of the main body of 
the Vandili and Suevi may account for the representation 
of Walther as a Spaniard in later (especially mhg.*) 
authorities. 

Several scholars (Mtillenhoff, Scherer, Symons, &c.) 
have laid great weight on a supposed connection between 
the Walthari saga and the " mythical " (?) Hilde saga (cf. 
Ch. VI, pp. 190 ff.). The discussion of this point really 
lies outside the scope of the present work, but it may be 
said, that although the later versions of the Walthari saga 
possibly reflect in some measure, and may have taken over 
certain features of the Hilde saga, the oldest version, viz. 
that of Ekkehart's Waltharius and the O.E. Waldere, 
contains nothing in common with it beyond the identity 
of one name — Hagen — and the fact that in both sagas 
the hero fights with the warrior bearing this name. It 
is true that the heroines of the two sagas bear the names 
Hilde and Hildegund respectively, but on this no con- 
clusions can be based, owing to the extreme frequency of 
the name Hilde — and derivatives of it — in early Teutonic 
literature. Nor can any weight be attached to the occur- 
rence of a story of abduction in both sagas. Quite apart 
from the consideration that abduction was in these times 
more often than not the only possible way of obtaining a 
bride, the underlying circumstances are totally different 
in the two cases. Finally, there is by no means sufficient 
ground to at once dismiss the Hilde saga as mythical ; for, 
except in one respect, viz. the never-ending fight between 

* In the Nibelungenlied, Biterolf, &c. Walther is frequently referred 
to as " Walther von Spanje " or " der Vogt von Spanje." 



THE BURGUNDIANS AND WALDERE 231 

the two kings, the story, as has been shown (cf. Ch. VI, 
p. 201) niay very well represent an historical episode. 
Certainly the only reference of any length which is made 
to the subject in O.E. literature, viz. Deor, lines 85 ff., is 
almost crudely matter-of-fact, and one which it is only 
possible to conceive as a reminiscence of actual personal 
experience. 



CHAPTER YIII 

THE EEMANRIC SAGA. 

The O.E. heroic poems contain various scattered refer- 
ences to the great Ostrogothic king Ermanric and to the 
saga which bears his name. It is beyond the scope of this 
book to treat the Ermanric saga in detail (cf. Jiriczek, 
D. H. S., Vol. I, pp. 55-118); the points which here fall 
under discussion are : — 

(a) The historical significance of the figure of Erman- 
ric : cf. Deor, 11. 20 ff. ; Wids., 11. 7 ff., 1. 18, 
11. 88ff. 
(6) The catalogue of Ermanric's heroes : cf. Wids., 

11. 109-130. 
(c) The story of Hama and the Brosingamene : cf. 
Beo., 11. 1197-1207. 

(a) Ermanric. 

I. Ermanric in O.E. Literature. 

Beowulf, 11. 1197-1201. 

"Naenigne ic under swegle s^lran h^rde 
hordm^ththum haeletha, syththan Hama aetwaeg 
to ])aere byrhtan byrig Brosinga mene, 
sigle and sincfaet, searo-nithas fleah 
Eormenrices*." 

* "I have never heard of a finer jewel in the possession of men 
under the sky, since Hama brought to the bright castle the Brosinga- 
mene, necklace and casket, and escaped from the treacherous hostility 
of Ermanric." 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 233 

Deor, 20 ff. 

"We geascodan Eormanrices 
wylfenne gethoht : ahte wide folc 
Gotena rices ; thaet waes grim cyning. 
saet secg monig sorgum gebunden, 
thaet thaes cjnerices ofercumen waere*." 

Widsith, 11. 7ff., 11. 88 ff. 

"...He... 

Hr^thcyninges ham gesohte 

eastan of Ongle Eormanrices, 

wrathes waerlogan." 

1.18: 

"Eormanrlc (weold) Gotum." 

11. 88 ff., more detailed reference to Ermanric saga : 

"And ic waes mid Eormanrlce ealle thrage, 
thaer me Gotena cyning gode dohte, 
se me beag forgeaf burgwarena fruma," &c. 

11. 109 — 130, list of Ermanric's champions. 
Waldere B. 1. 4, for Wudga (Widia). 

11. Chief Foreign References to the Ermanric saga. 

Historical. 

Ammianus Marcellinus. 
Semi-Historical. 

Jordanes. 
Legendary. 

Scandinavian. Saxo. 

(Older) Poetic Edda ; Hamdis-mdl. 

Prose Edda ; Skalds k. 
VqIss. 

* " We heard of Ermanric's wolf-like disposition : his sovereignty in 
the kingdom of the Goths was wide extended. He was a grim king. 
Many men sat there overwhelmed by anxiety, expecting trouble, and 
they wished with all their heart that his rule was at an end." 



234 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

Scandinavian. Th^ss. 

German. Mhg. poems, e.g. BJl., Bit., Alp., Nib. 

DeiLtsches Heldenhuch [5 Bde. Berlin, 1866-73], 
Anhang zum Heldenhuch, pp. 111-126. 
Deutsches Heldenhuch [ed. v. d. Hagen. Leipzig, 

1855]. 
Quedlinhurg Annals [Pertz, Mon. Germ. Scrip. ^ 

III, 32]. 

Ammianus Marcellinus. 

The evidence of Ammianus regarding Ermanric is of 
a strictly contemporary nature and is the earliest reference 
to this king that we possess. 

Ammianus (Ch. xxxi, 3, 1*) relates that the Huns, 
having completely subjugated the Alani, whom they com- 
pelled to enter into alliance with them, fell upon the 
dominions of Ermanric, a king whose mighty deeds had 
caused him to become known and feared throughout 
many lands. This sudden attack of the Huns took 
Ermanric by surprise, and, after a fruitless attempt at 
resistance, he committed suicide in order to escape the 
fate which threatened him from his enemies. 

JORDANES. 

Jordanes {Get. Ch. xiv, 82*), quoting an earlier histo- 
rian Ablabius, says that a part of the people living on the 
coast of the Pontus were called Ostrogothae, but whether 
this was from the name of their prince, Ostrogotha, or on 
account of their easterly situation, was unknown : the rest 
of the same people were called Vesegothae (Visigoths) on 
account of their westerly situation. 

* This passage is quoted in full at the end of the chapter. Cf. p. 255. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 235 

According to Jordanes ((re^. Ch. xxiii*) Herman aricus 
succeeded a king named Geberich, and conquered a large 
number of nations, many of whom lived in the south of 
Russia. He then conquered the Heruli, after which he 
turned his arms against the Venthi (Slavs) and the Aisti, 
whom he also conquered. In his reign the Gothic king- 
dom was invaded by the Huns. 

Jordanes differs from Ammianus in his account of 
Ermanric's death. The story which he tells (cf Ch. xxiv) 
is shortly this, Ermanric had caused to be trampled 
under wild horses a woman named Suanihilda of the tribe 
of the Rosomonen. The reason for this crime was that 
Suanihilda's husband had decamped from Ermanric's 
court "in a fraudulent manner." Sarus and Ammius, 
the brothers of Suanihilda, avenged their sister's death 
by a murderous attack on Ermanric. As the result of 
the wounds which they inflicted, the king was seized by 
a fatal disease. The malady was aggravated by his 
despair at the approach of the invading Hunnish armies, 
and he died soon afterwards. 

Scandinavian authorities — notably Ham^is-mdl, Saxo, 
Skdldsk. and Vglss. — tell a story which obviously stands in 
close relation to the account given by Jordanes. 



Hamdis-mal. 

Hamdis-mdl (contained in the older Edda) is the 
oldest Scandinavian authority which contains the story 
of Swanhild and Ermanric ; but the poem in its present 
form is incomplete, the first part (which dealt with the 

* See note on p. 234. 



236 THE ERMANKIC SAGA 

murder of Swanhild) having been lost. The events related 
in the poem as it stands are as follows : — 

The stern-hearted Gudrun stirred up her sons Hamdi 
and Sgrli to avenge the death of their sister Swanhild, 
who had been trodden to death by horses at the order of 
Jgrmunrek (Ermanric). They agreed to go on this quest 
rather reluctantly, for they foresaw that they should not 
return from it alive. Gudrun brought out from her 
storehouse weapons, and armour which made the wearers 
invulnerable, and these she gave her sons for their ex- 
pedition. As the two rode out they met their half-brother 
Erp, who offered to ride with them to Jgrmunrek's court ; 
but Hamdi and Sgrli despised this offer and slew Erp 
there. Then they rode on, and came in course of time 
to Jgrmunrek's castle, where the king sat within feasting, 
surrounded by his court. They dashed in, and attacking 
Jgrmunrek, cut off his hands and feet; whereupon the 
whole company of the Goths set upon Hamdi and Sgrli, 
but could do them no hurt with spear or sword because 
of their magic coats of mail which their mother Gudrun 
had given them. Finally however Jgrmunrek, who was 
still alive, gave orders to his men to stone Hamdi and 
Sgrli, and thus they were both killed. Their death is 
represented as partially the consequence of their murder 
of Erp, whose assistance would have enabled them to kill 
Jgrmunrek outright at the first attack. 

Saxo, Bk VIII, pp. 278-281. 

Jarmericus (Ermanric) was king of Denmark : he was 
advised by a treacherous counsellor Bicco to put to death 
his wife Suanihilda (Sw^anhild) and his son Broderus (by 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 237 

another marriage) on account of their alleged guilty 
relations. Broderus was condemned to be hung, but the 
punishment was a farce and he escaped almost unhurt. 
Suanihilda was trampled underfoot by horses and killed. 
Her brothers the Hellespontines came with an army to 
avenge her death, and succeeded in killing Jarmericus. 
They were assisted by Guthruna, a sorceress. Broderus 
succeeded his father as king. 

Yqlsungasaga. 

(Ch. XL). Jgrmunrek was the name of a mighty king 
of that time, and he had a son named Bandver. Now 
Jgrmunrek was desirous of wooing Swanhild, the daughter 
of Gudriin by Sigurd, and he sent his counsellor Bikki 
and his son Bandver to ask the hand of the maiden from 
King Jonak her guardian and the husband of Gudriin. 
They were successful in their quest and returned bringing 
Swanhild with them; l3ut on the way back to Jgrmunrek's 
court, Bikki urged Bandver to make love to Swanhild, 
saying that in age and beauty she was a far fitter mate 
for him than for his father. 

Bandver fell into the trap which had been laid for 
him, whereupon, on their arrival home, Bikki accused 
him of guilt to Jgrmunrek. Jgrmunrek, as punishment 
for their misdeeds, sentenced Bandver to be hung and 
Swanhild to be trampled to death by wild horses, but 
afterwards, when it was too late, he repented bitterly of 
having put to death his only son. 

Swanhild's death was avenged by her stepbrothers, 
Hamdi, Sgrli, and Erp, the sons of Gudrtin and Jonak. 
These three, urged on by their mother, set out for 



238 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

Jgrmunrek's court : on the way strife arose between 
them, and Hamdi and Sgrli killed Erp. Then the two 
survivors went on till they came to the abode of King 
Jgrmunrek, whom they at once attacked. Hamdi cut 
off his hands and Sgrli his feet. But because Erp, who 
should have cut off his head, was not there, they failed 
in their purpose, and were themselves slain by Jgrmun- 
rek's men. 

The story as contained in Skdldsk. Ch. XLII corre- 
sponds exactly to that of the VqIss. with the exception 
that in this case the murder of Swanhild was a sudden 
and spontaneous idea on the part of Jgrmunrek and 
apparently took place some time after the death of 
Randver. One day, as he came back from hunting, 
Jgrmunrek found Swanhild sitting in a wood, and gave 
orders that she should be trampled under his horses* feet. 

In the Quedlinhurg Annals, under the reign of 
Anastasius (491-578 A.D.), there is the following entry : 
*' Ermanrici regis Gothorum a fratribus Hemido et 
Serilo et Adaccero quorum patrem interfecerat amputatis 
manibus et pedibus turpiter uti dignus erat occisio." 

III. Comparison of Evidence regarding 
Ermanric. 

All sources agree in representing Ermanric as a man 
of fierce and cruel disposition, but, as we have seen, the 
account given by Ammianus of his death varies con- 
siderably from that of Jordanes and later authorities. 
The story as told in the Norse sagas, in Saxo, and in 
the Quedlinhurg Annals was probably in the first instance 
derived from the same source as the account given by 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 239 

Jordanes, this being in all likelihood some ancient Gothic 
tradition. But the authority of Jordanes, who has 
notoriously mingled a great deal of legend with historical 
fact, is far less reliable than that of Ammianus, a con- 
temporary historian, the truth of whose account there 
seems no reasonable cause to doubt. For the suicide of 
Ermanric we find a parallel in a custom of the Heruli*, 
who when they became too old to wield their weapons 
voluntarily gave themselves up to be killed by their 
friends. 

The account of Ammianus is however by no means 
incompatible with the story told by Jordanes in which 
Ermanric is not killed but only wounded in the attack of 
Sarus and Ammius. 

There are some points in the Swanhild story which 
vary in the different versions. According to Jordanes, 
Swanhild (Suanilta) was a woman of the Kosomonen 
(an unknown tribe): she was murdered by Ermanric, in 
revenge for the treacherous flight of her husband, who 
had formerly been in the king's service. 

In Saxo, Skdldsk. and VqIss., on the other hand, 
Swanhild (Suanihilda) is the wife of Jgrmunrek (Ermanric) 
and her death is the result of her real or alleged guilt 
with Randver (Saxo, Broderus) Jgrmunreks son. In 
the Norse sagas, and in the Quedlinhurg Annals, a third 
brother has been added to the Sarus and Ammius of 
Jordanes. In the sagas the names of the three are 
Hamdi, Sgrli and Erp {Ann. QuedL, Hemidus, Serilus, 
Adaccerus), Saxo however is the only authority according 
to which the brothers were successful in actually killing 
King Ermanric. 

* Cf. Procop. Goth, ii, 14. 



240 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

In Old Norse the Ermanric saga has been linked to 
the saga of the Nibelungen, Swanhild and her brothers 
being represented as the children of Gudrun, who was 
in turn the wife of Sigurd, Atli, and Jonak. In Saxo 
Guthrun appears as a sorceress but is not in any way 
related to Swanhild and her brothers. 

There is nothing in the evidence which we have 
considered which conflicts in any way with what is said 
of Ermanric (Eormenric) in the O.E. poems Widsith and 
Deor : both poems agree with all other accounts in repre- 
senting him as ferocious, cruel, and utterly untrustworthy 
in his dealings. He is " the savage truce breaker '" 
(Wids. 1. 9), "the grim king holding many in bondage'* 
(Deor, 1. 23 f.). 

(6) Ermanric's " Innvv^eorud." 

From the person of Ermanric we pass on to the list 
of his warriors — " innweorud " — enumerated by Widsith 
in 11. 109-130. Some of these names are known to us 
from other sources — some cannot be traced at all. Hethca 
and Beadeca are unknown ; the names which occur next 
are those of the Herelingas ; Emercan sohte ic and 
Fridlan. From other authorities (mhg. poems*, Lat. 
chronicles of eleventh and twelfth centuries, Norse 
saga) we know that the Herelingas were the brothers 
Emerca and Fridla (mhg. Imbreke and Fritila) to whom 
tradition {Dfl.^ Gen, Vip., &c.) sometimes adds a third, 
Herlip. The Herelingas or Harlunge — to use the more 
common mhg. form of the name — are everywhere 
represented as the nephews of Ermanric. They some- 

* Cf. Dietriches Flucht, Biterolf, Wolfdietrich, &c. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 241 

times appear as the sons of Diether. Their legendary 
home in the mhg. poems* is Breisach in the Breisgau, 
and they have a devoted foster-father in the faithful 
Eckehart, who has become one of the most popular figures 
of German legend. The Harlunge were murdered by 
their uncle Ermanric, on account of their great treasure, 
which he afterwards seized. In late authorities (e.g. 
Th^s., cf. Ch. 257) the motive of Ermanric in killing his 
nephews has been altered : he executes vengeance on the 
Harlunge on account of their dishonourable intentio'hs 
with regard to the ladies of his court and in particular 
the queen. 

According to Saxo, who is doubtless referring to this 
same legend, the sons of Jarmericus' sister made an 
attempt on their uncle's throne but at Bicco's prompting 
he captured and hanged them. 

East-Gota, Becca, etc. 

We have the evidence of Jordanes (Get. xiv, 82) that 
in the time of the Emperor Philip a prince of that name 
(Jordanes, Ostrogotha) ruled over the Goths, who in- 
habited a tract of land on the shores of the Pontus. As 
Widsith in many cases mentions, side by side, names of 
rulers who are separated from one another in actual time, 
by years and even by centuries, it is quite possible that 
Ostrogotha may have reigned as prince of the Goths 
previous to Ermanric, and that he was not in reality 
one of his innweorud. 

The name of Ostrogotha appears in Jordanes' genealogy 
of the kings of the Goths f: he is represented as the 

* Cf. Grimm, Deutsche Heldensage. 
t Cf. list of genealogies in Appendix ri. 

c. 16 



242 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

father of Hunuin, in agreement with Wids. 1. 114, where 
East-Gota is cdWed frddne and godnefaeder Unwenes. 

Of Secca nothing is known. 

Becca we may assume to be identical with Scand. 
Bikki (Saxo, Bicco), the evil counsellor who stands like 
a dark shadow behind Ermanric's throne, urging him on 
to the ruin of all his best friends. 

The character corresponding to Becca- Bikki appears 
in mhg. as Sibeche or Sibich, and in the Thds. as Sifka, 
arfd this name is mentioned by the Widsith poet (Sifecan) 
in the next line (1. 116) to that in which Becca occurs. 
The fact that in Widsith, which is our earliest authority 
regarding this matter, the two names are kept distinct 
and evidently denote different persons, may perhaps be 
evidence that there were originally two evil counsellors 
who stood behind Ermanric's throne, and that these, 
owing to their similarity of character, were later con- 
tracted into one, who appears either as Bikki-Becca or 
as Sibich-Sifka. But cf below under Sifecan (p. 246). 

Our chief authorities for the character of Becca are 
the Thd^s. (Chs. 276-283), Saxo (Bk viii, 279-287), and 
H. B. Anhang, and to a less extent, the prose Edda and 
VqIss. 

According to the Thds. and H. B. Anhang, Ermanric, 
having insulted Sibiche's {ThdJs. Sifka's) wife during his 
absence from home, made Sibiche thereby his sworn 
enemy. Saxo, on the other hand, relates that Bicco 
(Sibiche) was the son of a king hostile to Jarmericus 
(Ermanric), and that his brothers had been killed by 
Jarmericus in battle: Bicco afterwards joined the service 
of Jarmericus in order to compass his revenge for his 
slain kinsfolk. From the time Sibiche-Bicco entered 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 243 

Ermanric's service all accounts agree in representing him 
as the very evil genius of his master, though in the 
O.N. sources (Edda and VqIss.) there is no suggestion 
of his having been actuated by motives of revenge for 
past wrongs. According to these records, Bikki's chief 
triumph consisted in accomplishing the ruin of the king's 
wife Swanhild and his son Randver (Saxo, Broderus). 
Through his counsels he first helped to bring about a 
guilty connection between them, and afterwards betrayed 
them both to Ermanric. According to Saxo the accusation 
was altogether false, and the punishment of Broderus was 
only one in show; but according to Snorri (Skdldsk.) 
Kandver was really guilty of misconduct with Swanhild, 
and was hanged at the instigation of Bikki, while all 
accounts agree in the story of the death of Swanhild. 

According to Saxo and H. B. Anh. it was Bikki or 
Sibiche who instigated Ermanric to hang his nephews 
the Harlunge in order to obtain their treasure. 

In the ThdJs. it is also through the machinations of 
Sifka (Becca) that the destruction of Ermanric's three 
sons, Friedrich, Reginbald, Samson, is effected. In this 
authority, the story of Swanhild's death is entirely 
omitted, although it is curious to note that the death 
of Samson, Ermanric's youngest son, took place in a 
similar way ; he was trampled under foot by his father's 
horse as a punishment for a supposed insult to the 
daughter of Sifka. It looks as if some confusion had 
taken place here, and this is quite possible, as the ThdJs. 
is late in date, and gives the legends in many cases in 
a distorted form. 

According to the Thdjs., Chs. 322 ff., it was through 
the evil counsel of Sifka that Ermanric was plunged 

16—2 



244 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

into war with his nephew Dietrich (O.E. Theodric), and 
when Dietrich returned from his exile, he defeated and 
slew Sifka in a great battle outside Rome. 

Seafola may correspond to the Saben of German 
legend. In Bit. 1. 10,995 we are told that Sabene was 
the son of Sibich. In the mhg. poem of Wolfdietrick 
unt Saben, Saben appears as the false counsellor in a rdle 
exactly analogous to that of Sibich in the Ermanric saga, 
and although his ancestry is not given, it seems probable 
that he was the Sibichensuon of Biterolf 1. 10,995, who 
inherited his father's characteristics. 

Theodric. 

This has usually been interpreted as a reference to 
the historical Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogothic king 
of Italy (493-526), who is known in legend and folklore 
as Dietrich of Bern, where he ranks as the first of all 
knights. 

The sagas of Dietrich of Bern and of Ermanric are 
inextricably entangled with each other, although the 
two men are in actual time more than a century apart. 
Dietrich appears in the saga as the nephew of Ermanric. 
He was exiled from Italy by his uncle and took refuge 
at the court of the Huns*. After repeated contests with 
Ermanric, in which he was, according to H.G. tradition, 
always victorious, and yet was always obliged to return 
to the Huns, Dietrich finally regained his inheritance 
after an exile of thirty years. 

In addition to this pseudo-historical account of 
Theodoric there are countless stories and fairy tales 

* Cf. Beor, U. 18 f. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 245 

which deal with his victorious encounters with giants, 
dwarfs and dragons, and which have gradually accumu- 
lated round his figure, causing him to become the greatest 
hero of German legend. 

It is difficult to account for the persistent confusion 
of historical facts with which we are confronted in the 
Dietrich and Ermanric sagas. There is no apparent 
reason why the personality of Theodoric, which, far from 
being vague and shadowy, dominated the age in which 
he lived, should be made subservient to that of Ermanric, 
who was certainly not a greater man and about whom far 
less is known. 

A suggestion has been made which is worthy of con- 
sideration that there may have been two Theodorics*, 
the earlier of whom flourished in the fourth century 
as a vassal of King Ermanric, while the latter was the 
historical Theodoric the Great, who ruled over the Ostro- 
gothic kingdom in Italy from 493-526. 

The existence of such a character as this earlier 
Theodoric would do much to explain away the chrono- 
logical displacement of Theodoric in the sagas : for it is 
quite conceivable that the deeds of the earlier Theodoric 
should have become transferred to his more famous 
successor and that a confusion thus arose, which ended 
in the total assimilation of the less to the greater, 
and the substitution of the great Theodoric for his 
forgotten predecessor. 

* I am indebted for this suggestion to Mr H. M. Chadwick. 



246 the ermanric saga 

Heathoric and Sifecan, Hlithe and 
Incgentheow, etc. 

Sifeca(n) is capable of a twofold interpretation. We 
have seen (p. 242) that the name is the same as the 
Sifka of Th^s. and the Sibich(e) of the mhg. poems, 
and that it is used in these authorities to denote an 
evil counsellor of King Ermanric, who appears in Scand. 
literature as Bikki or Bicco, and in Wids. as Becca. 
According to this explanation, Sifeca may then denote 
one of Ermanric's ministers, whose character strongly 
resembled that of Becca. 

Another explanation has however been put forward 
by Binz*. He interprets the whole line as a reference to 
four characters of the Hervararsaga. According to Binz, 
Heathoric is to be identified with King Heidrek of the 
above-mentioned saga, Sifeca with Sifka, his mistress, 
and Hlicte, Incgentheow with Hlod and Angantyr, his 
two sons. 

Although there is a good deal to be said for this 
explanation, it can hardly be accepted as conclusive? 
since the names (with the exception of Sifeca, which 
we have seen to be susceptible of a totally different 
interpretation), are by no means so much alike in the 
two cases as to justify the assumption of a reference by 
the Widsith poet to the Hervararsaga. 

Binz has further attempted to identify Wyrmhere with 
Or mar of the Hervararsaga, bat this seems improbable. • 

Rumstein appears to be identical with the Jarl 
Rimstein of the Th^s., who was a disobedient vassal 
of Ermanric. Ermanric besieged the castle of Jarl 

* P. B. B. 20, 207. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 247 

Rimstein with a large army, and defeated bim in battle; 
the Jarl himself fell in the fight, by the hand of Witig 
(cf. TMs. Chs. 126 & 127). 

To the identity of Gislhere we have no clue, for it 
seems quite impossible that he should have any con- 
nection with the Gislaharius of the Lex Burgundionum. 

Freotheric seems to refer to Ermanric's son who was 
put to death by his father, probably through the mis- 
representations of Ermanric's evil counsellor, Sibich- 
Becca. In most authorities, Freotheric (Frederic) is 
represented as Ermanric's only son*, but in the Thcts. 
the one son has been expanded into three — Friedrich, 
Reginbald, Samson. 

An extract may here be quoted from the Quedlinburg 
Annals as it bears upon the fate both of Ermanric's son 
Frederic and on that of his nephews the Harlunge — 
Imbreike and Fritila: — 

Annales Quedlinhurgenses. Martianus, 450-457. " Eo 
tempore Ermanricus super omnes Gothos regnavit astutior 
in dolo, largior in dono : qui post mortem Friderici 
unici filii sui, sua perpetrata voluntate, patrueles suos 
Embricam et Fritlam patibulo suspendit, Theodricum 
similiter patruelem suum instimulante Odoacro patruele 
suo de Verona pulsum apud Attilam exulare coegit." 



WUDGA AND HaMA. 

We almost always i&nd the names of Wudga and 
Hama coupled as those of companions-in-arms. That 
they were well known in almost every place to which 

* Cf. Ann. Quedl. Dfi. 1. 2455. Heinr. v. Miinchen's Ghron. 1. 295. 



248 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

the Ermanric and Dietrich sagas spread, is shown by the 
frequency of the references and the countless adventures 
attributed to them. They are famous alike in the Th^s. 
and in all mhg. poems and chronicles, and they were 
the most dreaded amongst the warriors of Dietrich and 
Ermanric. 

But the characters Wudga and Hama or — to use the 
names in the more usual German form — Witig and Heime, 
are not altogether easily explained. A curious fact 
about them is that they are represented as being alter- 
nately in the service of Dietrich and Ermanric. At first 
the vassals of Dietrich', they not only appear to desert 
their master, but even become actively hostile to him in 
the course of the great struggle between Dietrich and his 
uncle Ermanric. Witig, especially, comes into prominence 
in this connection : he was a knight unsurpassed in 
strength and prowess by all save Dietrich : he was at first 
the devoted servant of Dietrich, but afterwards turned 
with equal fierceness against him, and became the leader 
of Ermanric's armies, and was finally slain by Dietrich. 
As one might anticipate, much more than a mere suspicion 
of treachery attaches to the names of Witig and Heime in 
many sources, and they are often quoted as the type of 
disloyal and treacherous vassals. It is, however, important 
to note the different view taken in the Thcts., especially 
with regard to Witig, who is here represented as the ideal 
knight, strong, brave, gentle and incapable of a mean or 
dishonourable action. No breath of treachery sullies his 
character. It was not by any overt act on his part that 
he became the vassal of Ermanric, but purely owing to 
the circumstance of his marriage with Ermanric's ward, 
the mother of the Harlunge brothers. As Ermanric's 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 249 

vassal, Witig was then bound, although sorely against the 
grain, to lead the forces of his master against those of his 
old master Dietrich. 

The Th^s. represented Heime as a good knight, but of 
a fierce and cruel disposition : he does not play such an 
important part in the saga as Witig. In his old age 
Heime re-entered the service of Dietrich {Th^s.y Chs. 
17 fif., 79 ff., 189 ff., 332 fP., 429 fif.). 

It is a strange circumstance in the history of the 
careers of Witig and Heime, that in these days, when 
loyalty and fidelity to the over-lord were held so dear, 
two warriors, possessed of almost every knightly virtue, 
should be found constantly transferring their allegiance 
from one great monarch to another who was his deadly 
foe. 

There must be some underlying facts which are un- 
known to us, to account for this. No certain explanation 
can we give of these puzzling relations, but a natural 
suggestion is that in the unusual relations of Witig and 
Heime to Ermanric and Dietrich we have further grounds 
for the theory hazarded above, that there were two Die- 
trichs (Theodorics), and that the one who played such an 
important part in the Ermanric saga did not originally 
represent Theodoric the Great, but an earlier Theodoric, 
the vassal of Ermanric. If this were so, the apparent 
inconsistency and treachery of Witig and Heime would 
instantly vanish : for as knights of Dietrich they would 
also owe allegiance to Ermanric, who was Dietrich's over- 
lord, and in the case of Dietrich's defection from his 
master, their first duty would still be to support Ermanric. 

In saga literature Witig is usually represented as the 
son of the smith Weland (G. Wieland) : this union is 



250 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

probably of Low German origin. In Saxo and in the 
older Edda, Witig and Heime do not appear at all. 

Witig has been identified with a Gothic hero, Vidigoia, 
who is twice mentioned by Jordanes. In Get., Ch. v, 
Vidigoia is spoken of as one of the heroes whose deeds 
are celebrated by the people in song : in Ch. xxxiv as a 
great Gothic warrior who was treacherously slain by the 
Sarmatians*. 

It is possible that in the sagas, the Sarmatians may 
have been replaced by the Huns, whose name was a 
more familiar one, but in any case we need not hesitate 
to identify the Wudga (mhg. Witege) represented as 
fighting for Ermanric against the Huns in Widsith and 
Rab. with the historical Vidigoia, the celebrated figure of 
Gothic tradition ■[■. 

(c) Brosinga Mene. 

There still remains for consideration the obscure 
allusion in Beowidf 11. 1197-1201, w^here we are told 
that Ham a stole and escaped with Brosingamene, which 
apparently was the property of Ermanric. Discussion 
has raged round this passage without arriving at any very 
definite conclusion. We may shortly examine the evidence 
of other authorities w^hich throw any light on the story. 

The Thd^s. (Ch. 435 fp.) contains a long account of a 
theft perpetrated by Heime in a monastery belonging to 
Ermanric, where he had formerly been in orders. Heime 

^ " Vidigoia Gothorum fortissimus Sarmatum dolo occubuit." 

t In JD/?., Rab. and H. B. Anhang, Witege is named side by side with 

Witegouwe, "his brother," both being represented as the sons of Wieland. 

This is clearly a case in which two forms of the same name have been 

mistaken for two distinct names. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 251 

stole a great deal of treasure in gold and silver on behalf 
of his master Dietrich, to whom he had returned after 
quitting Ermanric's service. A curious parallel to this 
story occurs in the end of the prose Vglss. where Heirair, 
the foster-father of Brunhild, is forced to fly from his 
country with Aslaug, the daughter of Sigurd and Brunhild. 
Heimir made a great harp which was hollow, into which 
he put the child Aslaug with much gold and silver ; he 
then set out on his journey in the disguise of a wandering 
minstrel. 

Although the occurrence of this story in the Vglss. 
may be a mere coincidence, yet the evidence of the Thds. 
alone is sufficient to prove that there was in the original 
saga some well substantiated story of a theft comii)itted 
by Heime on the property of Ermanric. The question as 
to what the Brosingamene which Beo. reports Hama to 
have stolen actually was, is however more difficult. In 
Norse mythology the necklace of the Goddess Freyja was 
called the Brisingamen. At the instigation of Odin, Loki 
stole the necklace from Freyja : it was however restored 
to her by Heimdall. 

It need not be doubted that Brosingamene is either 
a corruption or another form of Brisingamen ; but we do 
not know what the meaning and significance of the word 
is, whether there was only one or more than one Brisinga- 
men, whether, in short, it is a generic term or the name 
of some specific object. It cannot therefore be proved 
that the Brisingamen of Norse mythology is identical 
with the Brosingamene which Heime (Hama) is reported 
to have stolen from Ermanric. This is, however, assumed 
by Miillenhoff in his interpretation*, the chief points of 

* Z,f. d.A. Vol. XXX, pp. 217 ff, "Frija und der Halsband Mythus." 



252 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

which are (1) that by connecting Brisinga with Breisach, 
the traditional home of the Harhmge, the Brosingamene 
which was stolen by Heime is identified with the treasure, 
for the sake of which the Harlunge were murdered by 
Ermanric*; and (2) that the Harlunge themselves are 
interpreted as mythical beings, to wit, the twin Dioskuri 
or Aryan A9vina, the gods of the morning. 

As matters stand, the identification of the treasure of 
the Harlunge with the Brosingamene is mere conjecture, 
nor is there, in the story, anything to indicate that the 
figures of the two brothers are of less historical value than 
that of Ermanric himself: it is difficult to see what ground 
there is for the idea that they should be regarded as 
mythical characters. 

The chief objection to Mlillenhofif's explanation is, 
however, that it is based on an assumption which we 
have seen to be unwarranted, viz. that the Brosingamene 
of Ermanric was the same as the Brisingamen of the 
Goddess Freyja. 

It is of course possible that the Brosingamene was 
originally an attribute of the gods, which was afterwards 
transferred to mortals, a process for which parallel cases 
might be cited : but even if this were known to be the 
case, there would be no justification whatsoever for 
connecting myth and historical tradition any further. 

* According to the Thd:s. the father of the Harlunge was called Aki 
Orlungatrausti — this character is to be identified with the Getreue Ecke- 
hart of German legend who is everywhere referred to as the guardian of 
the Harlunge brothers {Bjl., Rah., Alp., &c.). It is in this connection 
perhaps worth while noting that according to the story of Vglss. cited 
above, Heimir in the course of his wanderings fell in with a peasant 
named Aki, by whom he was murdered for the sake of the treasure which 
he carried. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 253 

A document of St Gallen of the year 786* contains 
an entry according to which a certain Heimo and his 
daughter Suanilta made gifts of money to several monas- 
teries. 

The fact that these names Heimo (Heime) and Suan- 
ilta (Swanhild) are here linked together has given rise to 
the suggestion by Mlillenhoff, that Heime, who, according 
to Beo. 11. 1197 ff. stole the Brosingamene — apparently 
consisting of treasure — from Ermanric, was the husband 
of Swanhild, referred to by Jordanes in the words pro 
mariti frandulento discessu. There is not at present 
enough evidence to confirm this hypothesis ; except for 
this allusion, we have no ground for connecting Heime 
and Swanhild. The one feature common to Heime and 
to the husband of Swanhild is that they both robbed 
Ermanric (this appears to be the best interpretation 
oi frandulento discessu), and it is highly probable that 
Ermanric in the course of his reign w^as robbed by many 
others besides Heime. 

IV. Historical Background underlying the 
Ermanric Saga. 

The Ermanric saga regarded from an historical stand- 
point is valuable in its possibilities rather than in its 
certainties. We cannot affirm with absolute assurance 
more than what is already well-known historical fact, 
namely, that a powerful king named Ermanric ruled over 

* Urhundenbuch der Ahtei St Gallen, ed. Wartmann, 1863, Vol. i, 
110: "Ego Heimone et filia ejus Svanailta aque tiadamus et trans- 
fundimus ad monasterium sancti Gallone, qui est constructus in page 
Harbonensi, ubi ejus sacrus corpus requiescit." 



254) THE ERMANRIG SAGA 

the Goths during the middle years of the fourth century, 
and that his death took place simultaneously with the 
first attack made on his dominions by the Hunnish 
forces. 

All references in literature to Ermanric go to confirm 
the evidence of history that he was a monarch of great 
power and vast dominions. His jurisdiction appears to 
have extended as far as the shores of the Baltic* at the 
part where the Vistula enters it, and he was known and 
feared amongst Northern peoples as the mighty king 
Jgrmunrek. Ermanric is a familiar figure in Scandina- 
vian literature from the earliest times, and the fact that 
he was known by the Widsith poet is perhaps better 
proof than any other of his widespread fame at a very 
early date. 

There is no reason to doubt that the stories of Swan- 
hild, of Heime's theft, and of the Harlunge brothers are 
founded on historical fact, though we are not in a position 
to say definitely that such is the case. The only parts of 
these stories which may be regarded as spurious are those 
in which the number of characters occurring in any given 
connection in an early authority has been added to in the 
later accounts of the same story. Thus it is very improb- 
able that Sw^anhild had in reality more than two brothers, 
that the Harlunge were originally more than two in 
number, or that Ermanric had more than one son. 

* This is implied rather than actually stated. Jordanes says that 
Ermanric ruled over the Aisti, who lived according to King Alfred 
eastwards from the mouth of the Vistula to Ermanric's court. The 
visit of Ealhild, a princess of the Myrgringas, of which an account is 
given in Wids. 11. 5 ff., may have been a case of the giving of hostages, 
in which case Ermanric's jurisdiction extended perhaps as far north as a 
tribe whose territory bordered on Angel. 



THE ERMANRIC SAGA 255 

With regard to the catalogue of Ermanric's innweorud 
which is given by the Widsith poet, it is difficult to say 
anything definitely. 

It is, however, more probable than not that all the 
names are those of historical characters, whom the poet 
had heard spoken of in connection with Ermanric, although 
they do not all appear to have been contemporaries of 
that kino-. 



Note to Chapter viii. 

The following are the most important of the extracts 
from Jordanes, Ammiauus and the Quedlinhurg Annals 
bearing on the Ermanric saga. 

Ammianus (Ch. xxxi, 3, 1). " Igitur Hanni pervasis Alanorum 
regionibus, quos Gruthungis confines Tanaitas consuetude nomina- 
vit, interfectisque multis et spoliatis, reliquos sibi concordandi fide 
pacta junxerunt eisque adjunctis confidentius Ermanrichi late 
patentes et uberes pagos repentino impetu perruperunt bellico- 
sissimi Regis et per multa variaque fortiter facta vicinis nationibus 
formidati." 

Jordanes {Get. Ch. xiv, 82). "Nunc autem ad id, unde digressum 
primus, redeamus doceamusque, quomodo ordo gentis, unde agimus, 
cursus sui metam explevit. Ablabius enim storicus refert, quia 
ibi super limbum Ponti, ubi eos diximus in Scythia commanere, 
ibi pars eorum qui orientalem plagam tenebat, eisque praeerat 
Ostrogotha, utrum ab ipsius nomine, an a loco, id est orientales 
dicti sunt Ostrogothae, residui vero Vesegotbae, id est a parte 
occidua." 

{Oet. Ch. XXIII ff.) " Nam Gothorum rege Geberich rebus 
excedente humanis post temporis aliquod Hermanaricus nobilissi- 
mus Amalorum, multas et bellicosissimas arctoas gentes perdomuit 
suisque parere legibus fecit. Quem merito nonnuUi Alexandre 
magno comparavere majores...et gentem Herulorum quibus praeerat 
Alaricus, magna ex parte trucidatam reliquam suae subigeret 
ditioni." 



256 THE ERMANRIC SAGA 

(Ch. xxiv) "Post autem non longi temporis intervalhim, ut referfc 
Orosius, Huanorum gens omni ferocitate atrocior exarsit in Gothos. 
Hermanaricus, rex Gothorum licet, multarum gentium extiterat 
triumph ator, de Hunnorum tamen adventu dum cogitat Kosomo- 
norum gens infida, quae tunc inter alias illi famulatum exhibebat^ 
tali eum nanciscitur occasione decipere. Dum enim quandam 
mulierem Sunilda (Sunielh, Sunihil) nomine ex gente memorata 
pro mariti fraudulento discessu rex furore commotus equis ferocibus 
illigatam incitatisque cursibus per diversa divelli praecipisset,. 
fratres ejus Sarus et Ammius, germanae obitum vindicantes. Her- 
manarici latus ferro petierunt : quo vulnere saucius aegram vitam 
corporis imbecillitate contraxit. Quam adversam ejus valitudinem 
captans Balamber rex Hunnorum in Ostrogothorum partem movit 
procinctum, a quorum societate iam Vesegothae quadam inter se 
intentione sejuncti habebantur. Inter haec Hermanaricus tarn 
vulneris dolorem, quam etiam incursiones Hunnorum non ferens 
grandaevus et plenus dierum centesimo decimo anno vitae suae 
defunctus est." 

Quedlinhurg Awnals (Anastasius, 491-518). " Amulung Theo- 
deric dicitur : proavus suus Amul vocabatur qui Gothorum potis- 
simus censebatur, et iste fuit Thideric de Berne de quo cantabant 
rustice olim. Theodericus Attilae regis auxilio in regnum Gothorum 
reductus suum patruelem Odeacrum in Kavenna civitate expugnatum 
interveniente Attila ne occideretur' exilio deportatum paucis villis. 
juxta confluentiam Albiae et Salae fluminum donavit." 



CONCLUSION 

An attempt has been made in the foregoing chapters 
to estimate the amount of historical truth contained in 
the O.E. heroic poems. Emphasis has been laid on the 
reliability of the evidence of the poems, derived from 
their great antiquity, i.e. it is of the nature of con- 
temporary testimony and therefore was less likely to be 
corrupted than later accounts of the same events. When, 
in addition, we find this evidence confirmed by independent 
authorities of later date and different nationality, we are 
further justified in the belief that the tradition in question 
is based on historical truth. This we have found almost 
uniformly to be the case : there is scarcely a single episode 
of the poems which is not confirmed by the testimony of 
later Scandinavian or German records. Only in the case 
of one or two isolated references, and of some personal 
and tribal names contained in the catalogue of the Widsith 
poet, does all other evidence fail us. 

Of course, the coincidence of English and Scandinavian 
evidence with regard to any tradition is not a conclusive 
proof of its historical value but must be followed up by 
a thorough investigation of the nature of the tradition in 
question and the possible influence that mythology and 
folk-lore may have had in its development. A general 

c. 17 



258 CONCLUSION 

survey of the poems conducted on these lines has shown 
that with the exceptions of the Sceaf myth, some names 
in the Widsith catalogue, and the further possible exception 
of the Weland saga, we have found good ground for believing 
that the traditions contained in the O.E. epic poems are 
all based on historical fact. In some cases the weight of 
evidence in favour of the historicity of tradition has been 
so overwhelming as to exclude the possibility of doubt, 
as for example Offa's duel by the river Eider, and the 
successful campaign which Eadgils-Adils, with the assist- 
ance of Beowulf-Bgdvar, waged against Onela. In other 
cases it has been found necessary to have recourse to 
a more indirect method of reasoning. In the absence of 
actual proof, the accumulation of evidence often tends 
strongly towards the probability that a tradition is 
historical. Where, at the same time, the possibility of 
a mythical background can be eliminated it may be 
assumed with comparative certainty that the events 
related are based on actual occurrences. 

With regard to Widsith, which is little more than 
a catalogue of names and facts, no one denies that this 
is so. The same cannot be said of the view generally 
held with regard to the Beowulf. There seems, however, 
little doubt that much more stress should be laid on the 
historical importance of this poem also than has usually 
been the case. The supposed mythical elements which it 
contains have received undue prominence. Such elements 
mav, probably do, exist, but they are accretions which 
with care may be separated from the main thread of the 
events. Surely the coincidence of evidence in different 
authorities, both in the case of Beoiuulf and in that of the 
other narratives considered, is too remarkable for any 



CONCLUSION 259 

sober-minded critic to regard it merely as a series of 
fortuitous coincidences. 

Respect for the O.E. heroic poems considered in the 
light of historical documents increases, the more fully they 
are studied without preconceived determination to find in 
them mere myth or allegorical types. They are store- 
houses of valuable information conceroing the doings, 
customs, and beliefs of ancient Teutonic peoples*. Not- 
withstanding the obscurity arising in certain instances 
from the fragmentary form in which some of the poems 
have been preserved, we may go a step further and say 
that the primary interest of these poems, which were 
originally designed for the amusement and entertainment 
of our warlike ancestors, now lies in their relation to the 
history of the far-away times which gave them birth. 

* A consideration of the last two points would fall under the head of 
sociology rather than that of history, unless the latter term received its 
Spencerian interpretation. 



17-2 



APPENDIX I 

NATIONS AND KINGS VISITED BY WIDSITH 
IN HIS WANDERINGS. 

Myrgingas. Cf. Ch. iv on Offa Episode. 

Hrdthcyning, i.e. Ermanric. Cf. Ch. viii on Ermanric 
saga. A.S. hred'= glory or renown. 

Hwala. The only other known occurrence of the name 
Hwala is in MSS. B and C of the A.S. Chr. under the year 
855, where very far back in the genealogies we find the names 
Itermon Hathraing, Hathra Hwalai7tg, Hwala Bedwiging^ 
Bedwig Sceajing, id est filius JSfoe. 

It has been suggested that Eaforum Ecgwelan (cf. Beo. L 
1710) may contain a reference to the same person. 

Alexandreas = Alexander the Great of Greece. 

Aetla weold Hunum. The Huns were an Asiatic race. 
They appeared in Europe in the middle of the fourth century, 
moving westwards from the Ural Mountains with irresistible 
strength and great ferocity. The Huns were of Tartar origin, 
and came originally from a home in N.E. Asia. About the 
year 374 a.d. they crossed the rivers Volga and Don, and fell 
upon the kingdom of the Goths. During the first half of the 
fifth century the Huns were led by the great Attila, under 
whom they swept across Europe, penetrating even to Gaul, and 
inspiring universal terror through the cruelty of their deeds. 



APPENDIX I 261 

Between 445 and 450, Attila ravaged the Eastern Empire 
between the Euxme and the Adriatic, and in 450 he invaded 
Gaul. His forces were estimated at about half a million. 
Attila was defeated by the combined forces of Romans and 
Franks, after which he turned southwards with a view to 
marching on Rome. But he died in 453, and, deprived of their 
great leader, the Hunnish armies quickly became disorganized. 
The Huns dispersed and disappeared as suddenly as they had 
come, having, in their whirlwind course, changed the whole 
face of Europe. The probability is that they were to some 
extent assimilated by the Teutons among whom they settled, 
and that they became to all intents and purposes Teutonic. 

Eormanric (weold) Gotum. Cf. Ch. viii on Erman- 
ric saga. 

Becca (weold) Baningum. Cf. Wids. 1. 115, Seccan 
sohte ic and Beccan. Becca probably belongs to the East 
Gothic cycle, cf. therefore Ch. viii on Ermanric saga. 
Il^othing is known of the Baningas. 

Burgendum (weold) Gifica. Cf. Ch. vii on the 
Burgundians. 

Casere weold Creacum. Casere is of course merely 
the word "Caesar," i.e. Emperor. The representation of the 
Emperor as ruling the Greeks and not the Romans points to 
the conception in the poet's mind of the Empire as centred in 
Constantinople. From the year 478-800 a.d. there was only 
one Emperor in the Roman Empire and his seat of government 
was in Constantinople. 

Gaelic (weold) Finnum. Caelic is otherwise unknown. 

Finnas, like O.N. Finnar, may be a generic name em- 
bracing both Lapps and Finns. In O.E. references it usually 
denotes the Lapps, as for example in Orosius, Voyages of Ohthere 
and Wulfstan. By the Scridefinnas of Procopius (6^o^A. ii, 15), 
who are mentioned in Wids. 1. 29, the Lapps are also evidently 
meant. 



262 APPENDIX I 

Hagena (weold) Holmrygum. Cf. Ch. vi on Deor. 

Heoden (weold) Glommum. Cf. Ch. vi on Deor. 

Witta weold Swaefum. In Bede's genealogy {HisL 
Eccles. I, 15), Vitta is the name of the grandfather of Hengest^ 
who in 449 invaded Kent along with Horsa. According to 
Sweet's genealogy, dating from circa 872, Vitta is the father 
of Hengest. 

Wids., 1. 44, mentions the Swaefe as conterminous with the 
Engli. They were probably a northern band of the Suevi, who 
in early times were known as the people of the Elbe. We find 
mention of a people called the North Suevi in continental 
documents (cf. also Ch. iv). 

Wada (weold) Haelsingum. In the Thcts. Yad"e is a 
giant, the son of King Wilkinus. He is married to a mermaid 
and their son is the famous smith Weland. 

In the Gudrun Wate is a fierce sea-king who reigns in 
Sturmen or Sturmland. His figure recalls to some extent 
that of the God Neptune. 

The stem Haelsing- is found helping to form compounds 
in a number of northern names, e.g. Helsingaland, Helsing- 
fors, (fee. These names might quite well be originally due to 
the existence of a tribe, Helsingas or Haelsingas, although 
nothing is known directly of such a tribe. 

Meaca (weold) Myrgingiim. Meaca is otherwise un- 
known. 

Marchealf (weold) Hundingum. Marchealf is other- 
wise unknown. 

Nothing is known of a tribe called the Hundings. In the 
Vqlsungasaga and in Saxo we hear of a King Hunding, who 
was slain by Helgi Hundingsbani : according to the Edda, 
Helgi Hundingsbani was the son of Sigmund the Vylsung^ 
but Saxo has confused him with Helgi the son of Halfdan, 
king of Denmark, who lived much later and was quite a. 
different person. 



APPENDIX I 263 

As the authority of Widsith is much older than that of 
Saxo, we seem to have here a case of the contraction of a tribe 
or nation into a single man. The same thing has apparently 
taken place in the case of Heathobeardan and Hothbroddus 
(cf. Ch. II, p. 105). 

Theodric weold Froncum. 

Theuderic was the eldest of the four sons of Chlodovech 
(Clovis), the great king of the Franks, who first gave shape 
to the Frankish Empire. When Chlodovech died, his realms 
were divided according to an ancient Teutonic custom, amongst 
his four sons, Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Chlotar. 
Theuderic, who reigned from 511-533, received as his portion 
the former kingdom of the Ripparian Franks, which lay along 
the river Rhine from Koln (Cologne) as far south as Basel 
(Bale), as well as some territory lying to the east in the valley 
of the Main. It was in the early years of Theuderic's reign 
that Chochilaicus, a " Danish " pirate king, made a raid on the 
Lower Rhine. He was defeated and slain by Theuderic's son 
Theudebert. In 531 Theuderic, with the help of his brother 
Chlotar, conquered Thuringia and made it a tributary state. 
He died in 533. 

In the Quedlinburg Annals, under the year 532 a.d., we 
find the following entry, in the reign of Hugo Theodoricus 
under the Emperor Justinian (527-65) : 

" Eodem anno Hugo Theodericus rex Chlodovec regis filius 
ex concubina natus cum patri successisset in regnum ad elec- 
tionem suam Irminfridum regem Thuringorum honorifice in- 
vitavit. Hugo Theodericus iste dicitur, id est Francus, quia 
olim omnes Franci Hugones vocabantur a suo quodam duce 
Hugone." 

This passage is interesting for two reasons. In the first 
place, we learn from it that the Franks were originally called 
''Hugones," which forms an instructive parallel to Beowulf, 



264 APPENDIX I 

1. 2913, where in speaking of Hygelac's fatal expedition, the 
poet says : 

"Waes sio wroht scepen 

heard with Hugas^ syththan HygeMc cwom 

faran flot-herge on Fresna land, 

thaer hyne Hetware hilde gehnaegdoD, 

elne ge-eodon mid ofer-maegene, 

thaet se byrn-w$ga btigan sceolde, 

feoll on f^than*" 

Secondly, it appears from this passage that King Theuderic 
was commonly known as Hugo Theodericus. Theuderic was 
an illegitimate son of King Chlodovech, and after his father's 
death he quarrelled with his three brothers about the partition 
of the kingdom. These historical events seem to find an echo 
in the Hug- and Wolfdietrichsaga, and attempts have been 
made to identify episodes in Theu.deric's career with parts 
of this saga. The figure of Theuderic corresponds, however, 
not to that of Hugdietrich, but to that of his son Wolf- 
dietrich. 

Thyle (weold) Rondingum. Both names are otherwise 
unknown. 

Breoca (weold) Brondingnra. The only other refer- 
ence to Breoca is Beo. 11. 505 ff. (where the name occurs as 
Breca) and especially in 1. 520, where the country which he 
governed is referred to as the land of the Brondings. Beowulf 
was reported to have had a nine days' swimming match with 
Breca on the open sea. 

Billing (weold) Wernum. ' Billing is otherwise un- 
known. 

* " The strife with the Hugas became sharp, after Hygelac came 
with his fleet to the land of the Frisians, where the Hetware vanquished 
him in battle, (and) bravely achieved by their superior numbers that the 
armed warrior should yield, should fall amongst his warriors." 



APPENDIX I 265 

The Wenii are clearly the same as the Yarini mentioned 
hy Tacitus (Germ. Ch. 40), who unfortunately gives no clear 
indication as to their position, though we may infer from him 
that they lived near the sea and south of the Elbe. 

Ptolemy places the tribes Ouirouinoi and Teutonoaroi 
approximately in Hoist ein-Lauenburg, and the Auerpoi and 
Teutones approximately in Mecklenburg*. These two pairs 
of names seem to be doublets. It is possible that the Warni 
are mentioned in a corrupt form by Pliny (Wat. Hist, iv, 99 1) 
where they, together with the Goths and Burgundians, are 
classed as the Vandili, who constituted the north-easterly 
division of the five divisions into which Pliny divides th'e 
Oermani f . " On the whole," says Mr Chadwick (op. cit. p. 200), 
^' tl>e evidence such as it is distinctly favours the idea that the 
Varini belonged to the eastern or Baltic half of Germany." 
Mention is also found of the Warni in later times. According 
to Procopius (i.e. 550 a.d.) Goth, ii, 14 (cf. Ch. ii, p. 62), 
the Heruli passed through the territory of the Warni on their 
way north, before reaching the Danoi, and he says in another 
passage (v, 1 4) that the Warni were separated from the Franks 
only by the Rhine. Their territory lay apparently near the 
coast, for they were attacked by the Angloi from over the sea 
{Goth. IV, 20). Perhaps a branch of the Warni had settled in 
Holland, but since Procopius' knowledge of the geography of 
Northern Europe was but vague, some mistake may have taken 
place here. We read in Fredegarius (Chron. Ch. 15) that the 
Warni rebelled against the Franks in 596, but where they lived 
at this time is not stated. Detached bands of Warni are found 
in Italy and Spain at different times during the sixth century, 
and the last time they are mentioned is in the heading of a 
Code called "Lex Angliorum et Werinorum, hoc estThuring- 
orum," which dates from early in the ninth century. The 

* Ptolemy, Geographia, ir, 11. 9. 
t Cf. Ch. VII, p. 211. 



266 APPENDIX I 

most probable view is that this code belongs to part of the 
old Thuringian kingdom, which was situated in Central 
Germany round the basin of the Elbe, and hence it is likely 
that some part of the Warni had settled there. It may be 
noted that from the time of Tacitus downwards, the names 
of Angli and Warni have frequently been found in close 
interconnection *. 

Oswine (weold) Eowum. Oswine is otherwise un- 
known. 

Eowum seems to be the same word as Auiones, a tribe 
mentioned by Tacitus {Germ,, xl), and included among the 
seven which worshipped the Goddess Nerthus. The name 
may mean " Islanders " : we do not find it used elsewhere as 
a tribal name. The island of Oland, it may also be noticed, 
is called by King Alfred Eowland. 

Ytum (weold) Gefwulf. Gefwulf is otherwise un- 
known. 

Ytwm may be the same word as A.S. Eotan, O.N. Jotar, 
Eng. Jutes, which is the name used by Danish historians for 
the inhabitants of Jutland. Two forms appear in English 
corresponding to O.IST. Jotar, viz. (a) Eota or Eotena, (b) 
Yte or Ytena. 

Y of Yte would correspond to le and give Jete, a W.S, 
form with Umlaut (cf. also p. 183). 

Fin Folcwalding (weold) Fresna cynne. Cf. Ch. v 
on Finn saga. 

Sigehere lengest Sae-denum weold. For Sigehere and 
the Danes cf. Ch. it. 

Hnaef (weold) Hocingum. Cf. Ch. v on Finn saga. 

Helm (weold) Wulfingum. Helm is otherwise un- 
known. In Beowulf, and in various Scandinavian poems, 
references to his tribe occur. 

'' Cf. Chadwick, op. cit. pp. 108 &., 198 ff. 



APPENDIX I 26T 

In Beowulf they are called Wylfingas, in Scandinavian 
references Ylvingar; in Scandinavian literature they are 
sometimes identified with the VQlssiingar. 

Wald (weold) Woingum. Both names are otherwise 
unknown. 

Wod (weold) Thyringum. Wod is otherwise un- 
known. 

The Thuringas were an important nation up to the begin- 
ning of the sixth century, and occupied territories around and 
northwards of the basin of the Saale, and bordering on the 
Franks. Their kingdom was destroyed by the Frankish king 
Theuderic in 531 a.d. 

Saeferth (weold) Sycgum. These names recall the 
Sigeferhth Secgena leod mentioned in Finn (cf. Ch. v on 
Finn saga). 

Saeferth's name occurs in a genealogy of East Saxon kings 
contained in Sweet, 0. E. T. p. 179, while much higher up in 
the same genealogy we find the name Gesecg. Now one of the 
ancestors of the West Saxon kings, as contained in the genea- 
logy of the A.S. Chronicle under the year 855, is named Gewis^ 
and Bede {Hist. Eccles. iii, 7, &c.) repeatedly speaks of the 
West Saxons as Gewissae or Gewissi, by which name, as he 
says, they were formerly called. On the analogy of the forms 
Gewissae and Gewis it seems permissible to reason that 
Secgena (Sycgan) may have been formed in a similar way 
from Gesecg, and may thus have been at one time no other 
than a dynastic name for the East Saxons. 

Sweom (weold) Ongentheow. Cf. Ch. iii on Swedish 
traditions. 

Sceafthere (weold) Ymbrum. Sceafthere is otherwise 
unknown. 

The forms Ymbrum and Sycgum suggest the possibility 
that y may have taken the place of an earlier e. If this is 
so, the Embrum may have been the inhabitants either of the 



268 APPENDIX I 

Pagus Ambria — now Ammerland — on the borders of Olden- 
burg and West Hanover, or of the island Amrum (formerly 
Amberum), and there may be some historical connection be- 
tween these two places. In Nennius' account of the North- 
umbrian kings, the Northumbrians are twice spoken of as 
Saxones Amhronu7a^ which is glossed "i.e. Eald Saxonum"^." 

As the Northumbrian English could not possibly be iden- 
tified with the Ambrones it is clear that some mistake has 
taken place here; the existence of the gloss is, however, 
evidence that the Old Saxons, or some part of them, were 
called Ambrones. 

Possibly the word Ambrones in Nennius was originally 
merely a scribal error for XJmbrones — Northumbrians. 

Sceafa (weold) Longbeardum. History knows no 
Lombardian prince of this name. For Longbeardas see below. 

Hun (weold) Haetwerum. Hun is otherwise unknown. 
The Haetweri are mentioned in Beo. 1. 2363 and 1. 2916, as 
Hetwari. In alliance with the Franks and Frisians they 
defeated Hygelac. This tribe is clearly the same as the 
Chattuarii who are mentioned in connection with the same 
events in the Gesta Francorum, Ch. xix (cf. p. 43). 

The name survives in the Pagus Hattuariensis between 
the Zuyder Zee and the Phine, the first mention of which 
dates from the beginning of the Christian era (Yelleius). 

Oflfa weold Ongle. Cf. Ch. iv on the Offa Episode. 

Alewih weold Denum. Cf. Ch. ii, especially pp. 118 ff". 
Widsith, 11. 70-75 : 

" I have also been in Italy with Aelfwine — so far as my 
knowledge goes he, the son of Eadwine, had of all mankind 
the readiest hand for the acquisition of praise, the most un- 
grudging heart for distributing rings, i.e. shining bracelets." 

Aelfwine (Alboin) the son of Eadwine (Audoin) was an 
historical king of the Lombards. In the first half of the 
* Nennius, Sec. 63, MS. K. 



APPENDIX I 269 

sixth century the Lombards, whose territory lay on the middle 
Danube, were neighbours and bitter enemies of the Gepidae, 
who had remained in the Hungarian plains when the rest of 
the Gothic people moved west to Spain and Italy. In 567^ 
the Lombards, assisted by the Tartars and Avars, put an end 
to the struggle by almost exterminating the Gepidae : this 
took place under the leadership of Alboin the son of Audoin. 
The next year, 568, Alboin put into effect a long-cherished 
scheme for the invasion of Italy. In 552, while the old king 
Audoin was still alive, the Lombards had provided horses 
with a contingent of 5,000 men for his invasion of Italy. 
This perhaps first gave rise in Alboin's mind to the idea of 
himself invading Italy, an idea which received fresh impetus 
after he had seen the beauties and the fertility of that land. 
At that time an independent Lombard invasion was out of 
the question, as the Lombards were still fully occupied with 
the Gepidae, and their king Audoin was an old man. In 568 
the way at length seemed open, and Alboin, leaving his king- 
dom, under certain conditions, to his allies, the Avars, crossed 
the Alps in the summer, with the whole Lombard nation, and 
took possession of the plains of North Italy, which, owing to 
previous wars and pestilence, were then in a state of desertion. 
Very little opposition was offered to Alboin's advance : only 
in places such as Padua, Yerona, Pavia, which contained an 
imperial garrison, was there organised resistance. 

The Lombards spread themselves over the whole valley 
of the Po. They became divided into West and East Lom- 
bards. Many scattered portions of other tribes joined Alboin, 
such as Saxons, Suabians, Bulgarians, and Slavs. At last 
Pavia, the last stronghold, fell, and was chosen by Alboin as 
the capital of Lombardy. 

Alboin was murdered in 572 at the instigation of his wife, 
the daughter of Cunimund, king of the Gepidae, whom Alboin 
had slain. 



APPENDIX II 

LIST OF GENEALOGIES. 

English Genealogies. 

West Saxon Genealogy. 

(This genealogy makes no claim to completeness, being 
designed to deal only with names which have occurred in. 
the consideration of the O.E. poems.) 

W.S. Genealogy in A. S. Chronicle under year 855. 

Sceaf. id est filius Noe. 

Bedwig. 

Hwala. 

Hrathra. 

Itermon. 

Heremod. 

Sceldwea. 

Beaw. 

Taetwa. 

Geat. 

Godwulf (Nennius, Folcbald or Folcpald). 

Finn. 

Frithewulf. 

Frealaf. 

Woden. 

Baldaeg. 

Brand. 

Frithogar. 

Freawine. 

Wig. 

etc. etc. 



APPENDIX II 271 

The genealogy as given by William of Malmesbury and 
Aethelweard varies slightly from that in the A. S. Chr. 

William of Malmesbury. 
Noae. 
Strephius. 
Bedwegius. 
Gwala. 
Hadra, 
Stermonius. 

Heremodius. Aethelweard. 

Sceaf. Sceaf. 

Sceldius. Scyld. 

Beowius. Beo. 

Tetius. Tetwa. 

etc. etc. etc. etc. 

The non-W.S. genealogies, i.e. a group consisting of a text 
printed by Sweet— Cotton MS. Vespasian B. 6 fol. 108 ff. 
(811 — 814 A.D.) — Historia Britonum, a chronicle under year 
547, probably of northern source, and several later texts 
(Corpus, 183), all place Geat at the head of the genealogy. 
Only in the A. S. Chr. under year 855, in Aethelweard and in 
the texts derived from these, are the genealogies carried back 
to Sceaf. The last mentioned authorities date from about the 
end of the tenth century. 

Mercian Genealogy in A. S. Chr. under year 755. 

Woden. Woden. 

Wihtlaeg. Wihtlaeg. 

Waermund . Waermund . 

Offa. Offa. 

Angeltheow. Angeltheow. 

Eomaer. Eomaer. 

Icel. Icel. 



272 



> 


APPENDIX 11 


Cnebba. 


Cnebba. 


Cynewald. 


Cynewald. 


Creoda. 


Creoda. 


Pybba. 


Pybba. 


Eawa. 


Penda. 


Osmod. 




Eanwulf. 




Thingferth. 




Offa. 




Danish Genealogies. 




Sven Aagesen. 


Saxo. 


SkiQld. 


Humblus I. 


Frothi. 


Dan I. 


Haldan. 


Humblus II. 


Helge. 


Lothar. 


Rolf Kraki. 


Sciold. 


R0kil. 


Gram. 


Frothi hinn fr0kni. 


Hading. 


Wermnndus. 


Frotho I. 


Uffi. 


Haldanus I. Roe I, 


Dan Elatus. 


Helgo. Roe II. 


Frothi senex. 


Hrolvus crace. 


Fridlevus. 


Hotherus. 


Frothi largus. 


Roricus Slyngebond 




(ringslinger). 


Ingild. 


Wiglecus. 


Olavus. 


Waermundus. 




Uffo. 




Dan timid us. 




Huglecus. 




Frotho vegetus II. 




Dan III. 




Fridlevus celer I. 



APPENDIX II 



273 



Frotho legislator III. 

Fridlevus II. 

Frotho largus IV. 

Tngellus. 

Olavus. 

Frotho V. 

Haldan II. 

Langfedgatal. 
Oden. 

Skigldr his son. 
Fridleifr his son. 
Fridefrode his son. 
Havarr his son. 
Frode his son. 
Yarmundr his son. 
Olafr his son. 
Danr. 

Frode his son. 
Fridleifr. 
Frode his son. 
Ingjaldr his son. 
Halfdan — brother. 
Helgi oc Hroar, sons. 
Rolfr Kraki Helgi's son. 
Hraerekr Ingiald's son. 

Gothic Genealogy. 

Genealogy of Gothic kings given by Jordanes, Get. 



Ch. XIV. 



Gapt. 
Ulmul. 
Augis. 
Amal. 



18 



274 APPENDIX II 

Isarna. 

Ostrogotha. 

Hunuin. 

Athal. 

Athiulf. 

(H)ermenaricus. 

Wultuulf brother of Hermenaricus. 

Yalaravans. 

Yinitharius. 

Vandalarius. 

Theudemer. 

Theodericus. 

Icelandic Genealogy. 
Flateyjarhok, i, p. 27. 

Genealogy A. 
Frodi. 

Vermundr enn vitri. 
Olafr enn litillati. 
Danr enn mikillati. 
Frodi enn frithsami. 

Genealogy B. 
Frodi. 

Hans son Yemundr enn vitri. 
Hans dottir Olof. 
Hon var modir Froda ens frithsama. 



BIBLIOGEAPHY 

I. GENEEAL WORKS OF REFERENCE 

A. M. Chadwick. The Origin of the English Nation. Cambridge. 

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J. J. Conybeare. Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry. London. 

1826. 
W. Golther. Die deutsche Heldensage. Dresden. ] 894. 
J. Grimm. Deutsche Mythologie. Gottingen. 1835. 
W. Grimm. Deutsche Heldensage. Gottingen. 1829. 3rd ed. 

Steig, Giitersloh. 1889. 
N. F. S. Grundtvig. Udsigt over den nordishe oldtids heroisJce digtning. 

1867. 
0. L. Jiriczek. Die deutsche Heldensage. Strassburg. 1898. 

Transl. {Northern Hero Legends) M. Bentinck Smith. London. 

1902. 

F. Jonsson. Old Norske Litteraturs Historic. Copenhagen. 1894- 

1902. 
W. P. Ker. Epic and Romance. London. 1897. 
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Strassburg. 1894. 

G. Korting. Grundriss der Oeschichte der englischen Litteratur. 

Miinster i. W. 1887. 
H. Moller. Das altenglische Volksepos. Kiel. 1883. 
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pp. 272 ff. 
Zeugnisse und Excurse zur deutschen Heldensage^ in ZfdA. 

1865. Vol. XII, pp. 253—386. 



276 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A. Olrik. Danmarks Heltedigtning. Copenliagen. 1903. 

H. Paul. Grundriss der germanischen Philologie. Strassburg. 

1891- . 
Raszmann. Die deutscJie Heldensage und die Heimat. 1857-8. 
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K. Weinhold. Die Riesen des germanischen My thus, Wien. S. B. 

XXVI, 253 ff. 
J. C. Zeuss. Die Deutschen U7id die Nachharstamme. Munich. 1837. 

II. WORKS ON THE OLD ENGLISH HEROIC POEMS 

Text of all the poems in C. W. M. Grein's Bihliothek der 
angelsdchsischen Poesie. Gottingen. 1857. 2nd ed. R. P. Wiilcker. 
Cassel. 1881-3. 

The Beowulf. (Editions in chronological order.) 

G. J. Thorkelin. De Danorum Rebus Gestis Secul.., vols, iii, iv. 

Copenhagen. 1815. 
J. M. Kemble. The Anglo-Saxon Poems of Beowulf the Traveller's 

Song, and the Battle of Finnshurh. London. 1833. 2nd ed. 

1835. 

B. Thorpe. The Anglo-Saxon Poems of Beowulf the Scop or 

Gleeman^s Tale, and the Fight at Finnshurg. Oxford. 1855. 
S. Grundtvig. Beowulf s Beorh. Copenhagen. 1861. 
M. Heyne. Text with complete Glossary. Paderborn. 1863. 
T. Arnold. Beowulf — a heroic poem of the VII 1th century (text and 

translation). London. 1876. 
J. A. Harrison and R. Sharp. Beowulf, loith text and glossary 07i 

the basis of M. Heyneh text. Boston, U.S.A. 1882. 4th ed. 

1895. 
A. Holder. Beowulf. Text and Glossary. Freiburg im Breisgau. 

1884. 
A. J. Wyatt. Beowulf, loith text, index of proper names and glossary. 

1894. 
M. Trautmann. Beowidf. Bonn. 1904. 
F. Holthausen. Beowulf. Heidelberg. 1906. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 277 

English translations of the Beoioulf by 
J. M. Kemble. London. 1837. 

^* ?, h in eels, quoted above. 

T. Arnold J 

H. W. Lumsden. In Modern Rhymes. London. 1881. 

J. Zupitza. Facsimile of the entire Beoioulf MS. E.E.T.S., 

London. 1882. 
J. M. Garnett. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnshurg translated into 

verse. Boston, U.S.A. 1882. 
J. Earle. The Deeds of Beoioulf done into modern prose., with 

Introduction and Notes. Oxford. 1892. 
J. Leslie Hall. (Poetical translation.) Boston, U.S.A. 1892. 
W. Morris and A. J. Wyatt. The Tale of Beowulf (in archaic verse). 

Kelmscott Press, 1895. London. 1898. 
J. R. Clark Hall. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnshurg, in Modern 

English Prose. London. 1901. 
C. B. Tinker. The Translations of Beovmlf^a Critical Bibliography. 

New York. 1903. 
C. G. Child. New York. 1904. 

Beowulf Works Explanatory and Illustrative. 

T. Arnold. Notes on Beowulf 1898. 

G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 141 ff. Sceaf und seine NachJcommen. 

R. C. Boer. Arkiv f nord. Fil. vol. xv, pp. 19 — 88. 

L. Botkine. Beowidf Analyse hist, et geogr. Paris. 1876. 

K. Bouterwek. Das Beowidf slied. G^erw. vol. i, pp. 385 — 418. 1856. 

Zur Kritik des Bids, in ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 59 — 113. 

A. Brandl. Der gegenwdrtige Stand der Beowulf forschung. Arch. 

vol. cviii. pp. 152 ff. 
S. Bugge. PBB. vol. xii, pp. 1—112, 370—5. Arh. f nord. Fil. 

vol. I, pp. 1 ff: ZPH. vol. VIII, pp. 287—9 ; vol. iv, p. 192. 
H. Dederich. Hist, und Geogr. Studien zum ags. Beowulfsliede. 

Koln. 1877. 
F. Better. Uher die Heathoheardan im Beowulf. Verhandl. d. Wien. 

Phil. Vers. 1893. pp. 404 ff. 
L. Ettmiiller. Beowidf — Einleitung. Zurich. 1840. 

Carmen de Beovulfl Oautarum regis rebus gestis. Zurich. 1875. 

18—3 



278 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

H. Gering. Der Beowulf und die isldndische Orettissage. Anglia, 

Vol. Ill, pp. 74 flP. 
C. W. M. Grein. Die historischen Verhdltnisse des Beowuljliedes in 

Eherts Jahrhuch fur romanische imd englische Litteratur, 

vol. IV, pp. 260—285. 
J. Grimm. Uber das Verhrennen der Leichen. Ahh. d. Berl. Ahad. 

1849. pp. 191 ff. {Kl. Schr. vol. ii, pp. 221 ff.) ; ZfdA. 

vol. Ill, p. 151. 
N. F. S. Grundtvig. Bjowulfs Drape. Copenhagen. 1820. 
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Keview of Olrik's Danmarks Heltedigtning. AfdA. vol. xxx, 

p. 26. 

M. Hejne. Die Halle Heorot. Paderborn. 1864. 

J. M. Kemble. tlher die Stammtafel der Westsachsen. Munich. 1836. 

Fr. Klaeber. Hrothulf. M. L. N. vol. xx, pp. 9 ff. 

F. Kluge. Beowulf und die Hrolfssage. Eng. St. vol. xxii, 

p. 144. FBB. vol. IX, pp. 187 ff. 
R. Kogel. Der JVame Beowidf ZfdA. vol. xxxvii, pp. 268 ff. 
A. Kohler. Die Einleitung des Beowulf s und die heiden Episoden 

von Heremod. ZPH. vol. ii, pp. 305 ff. 
Th. Kriiger. Zum Beowulf liede. Bromberg, 1884. 

Uher den JJrsprung und die Entwickelung des Beowulfliedes. 

Archiv, vol. lxxi, pp. 129 ff. 

Geschichte der Beowulf Kritik. (Of. Wiilcker's Orundriss, 

p. 675.) 

L. Laistner. Nehelsagen. Stuttgart. 1879. 
H. Leo. Beowidf Halle. 1839. 

F. Moorman. The Interpretation of Nature in English Poetry. 

{Q. F. 95.) Strassburg. 1903. 
K. Miillenhoff. Beowulf Berlin. 1889. 
— — Sceaf und seine Nachkommen'\ „., , -, ai n ff" 

Der Mythus Don Beowulf J ' ' 

Die innere Oeschichte des Beowulf s. ZfdA. vol. xiv, p. 242. 

G. Neckel. Studien uher Frothi. ZfdA. vol. xlviii, pp. 163 ff. 

A. Olrik. Kilderne til Sakses Oldhistorie, vol. ii. Copenhagen. 

1894. 

F. York Powell. Recent Beowulf Literature. Academy^ Nos. 648 — 

654. Oct. 4th and Nov. 15th, 1884. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY If 279 

E. Rickert. The Old English Offa Sage. Mod. Philol. vol. ii, 

pp. 29 ff., 321 ff. 
G. Sarrazin. Beowulf Studien. Berlin. 1888. 
— — Die Beowidfsage in Danemark. Anglia^ vol. ix, pp. 195 ff. 

Beowa und Bothvar, ib. vol. ix, pp. 200 ff. 

JVeue Beoivulf- Studien. Eng. St. vol. xvi, pp. 79 ff., 

XXXIII, pp. 221 ff., XXXV, p. 10. 

Rolf Krake und sein Vetter. Eng. St. vol. xxiv, p. 144. 

Die Hirschhalle. Angl. vol. xix, pp. 368 ff. 

Der Schauplatz des B.-lieds und die Heimat des Dichters. 

PBB. vol. XI, pp. 159 ff. 

Altnordisches in Beowulf. PBB. vol. xi, pp. 528 ff. 



M. Schviltze. Altheidnisches in der ags. Poesie, speziell im Beowulf s- 

liede. Berlin. 1877. 
E. Sievers. Berichte der kgl. sachs. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 

vol. XLVii, pp. 175 — 192. 

Zur Rythmik des germ. Alliterationsverses. PBB. vol. x, 

pp. 209—451 ff: 

Zu Beowulf PBB. vol. ix, pp. 135 ff., 370, vol. xvii, p. 2. 

Die Heimat des Beowulf dichters. PBB. vol. xi, pp. 354 ff. 

W. W. Skeat. The Name Beowulf. Acad. 1877, vol. i, p. 163. 

Journal of Phil.., July, 1886. 
K. Stjerna. Vendel och Vendelkrdka. Arkiv f nord. Fil. N. R. 

XVII, pp. 71 ff. 
H. Suchier. tjher die Sage von Offa und Thrytho. PBB. vol. iv, 

pp. 500 ff. 

B. ten Brink. Beowulf {Q. F. 62). Strassburg. 1888. 

The Finn Fragment in addition to those mentioned above. 

G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 179—186. 

R. 0. Boer. ZfdA. vol. xlvii, pp. 125—160. 

S. Bugge. PBB. vol. xii, pp. 20—37. 

L. Ettmuller. Beowulf. Zurich. 1840. pp. 35—39. 

C. W. M. Grein. Ebert's Jahrhuch, vol. iv, pp. 269—271. 

G. Hickes. Linguarum Septentrionalium Thesaurus. Oxford. 1705. 
M. H. Jellinek. PBB. vol. xv, pp. 428—431. 
R. Kogel. Op. cit. pp. 163—167. 



280 BIBLIOGEAPHY 

H. Moller. Op. cit. pp. 46—102. 

K. MiillenhofF. ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 281—3. 

M. Eieger. ZfdA. vol. xviii, pp. 9 — 13. 

H. Schilling. M. L. N. vol. i, pp. 178—183, ii, 291—9, vi, 178 £f., 

VII, 231 ff. 
Swiggett. M. L. N. vol. xx, pp. 169—171. 
B. ten Brink. In Paul's Grdr. vol. i, pp. 445 — 450. 
M. Trautmann. B. B. z. A. vol. viii, pp. 1 — 64. 

Widsith. 

For editions, see under Beowulf (Kemble, Thorpe, also in 
Conybeare, Ilhistrations of A ngloSaxon Poetry). 
G. Binz. PBB. vol. xx, pp. 141—223. 
K. Bojunga. PBB. vol. xvi, pp. 545 — 548. 
L. Ettmliller. 8c6pe& Widsith, p. 11. Pub. 1839. 
F. Gummere. M. L. N. vol. iv, pp. 418 — 423. 
H. Moller. Op. cit. pp. 1—39. 
K. MiillenhoiF, Nordalhingische Studien, vol. i, pp. 148, 165, 

In Beowulf 1889. 
ZfdA. vol. XI, pp. 275 — 294, and Nachtrag in Bill, der ags. 

Poesie, vol. I, p. 401. 
B. ten Brink. In Paul's Grdi-. vol. ii, pp. 538 — 545. 

Deor. 
English Translations by 

Conybeare. Op. cit. 

Morley. English Writers, vol, i. Part 1, p. 278 f. 

Sweet. In Warton's Hist, of Engl. Poetry, 4th ed. vol. Ii, pp. 8 — 13. 

And in Atlantic Monthly, vol. lxvii, p. 287 (Feb. 1891). 
Depping et Fr. Michel. Veland le forgeron. 1833. 
F. Detter. Arkiv f. nord. Fil. vol. iii, pp. 309 ff. 
J. Golther. Germ. vol. xxxiii, p. 449. 
R. Heinzel. tJher die Ostgermanische Heldensage (Wien. S. B. 119). 

Vienna. 1889. 
0. Jiriczek. Die Deutsche Heldensage, pp. 1 — 54. 
Klee. Zur Hildesage. Leipzig. 1873. 
Kuhn. Sagen aus Westfalen, vol. i, p. 42 f. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 281 

E. H. Meyer. AfdA. vol. xiii, pp. 23 ff. 

Indogermanische Mythen, vol. ii, pp. 678 ff. 

K. Meyer. Germania, vol. xiv, pp. 283 ff. 

Die Dietrichsage in ihrer geschichtlichen EntwicJcelung. Basel. 

1868. 
K. Mlillenhoff. ZfdA. vol. xi, pp. 272—5, vii, 530 f., xii, 261. 
M. Rieger. Oermania, vol. iii, p. 176. 
J. W. Tupper. M. L. N. vol. x, pp. 125—7. 

Waldere. 

H. Althof. Das Waltharilied ilhersetzt und erlautert. Leipzig. 

1896. 
S. Bugge. Til de oldengelske digte om Beowulf og Waldere. ZPH. 

vol. VIII, pp. 40, 287. 
P. J. Cosijn. De Waldere Fragmenten. Arnstedt. 1895. Akad. 

der Wiss. Letterhunde, 3rd Reeks, Deel xii. 
P. Dieter. Anglia^ vol. x, pp. 227—234, xi, 159—170. 
J. Grimm. ZfdA. vol. v, p. 2. 
Lateinische Gedichte des X^'^ und X/^"- Jahrhunderts^ pp. 101 ff. 

Gottingen. 1838. 
Heinzel. tlber die Waltkari Sage. Wieti. S. B., cxvii, ii. 1888. 
R. Kogel. Op. cit. vol. i. Part 1, pp. 235 ff., i, 2, 278 ff. 
M. D. Learned. The Sage of Walther of Aquitaine. Baltimore. 

1892. 
K. Mullenhoff. ZfdA. vol. x, pp. 163 ff., xii, 264 ff., xxx, 255 ff. 
Yietor Scheffel und Alfred Holder. Waltharius. Ein lateinisches 

Gedicht des X'^"- Jahrhunderts. Stuttgart. 1874. 
Scherer. Der Wasgensteiii in der Sage. Kl. Schr. Vol. i, pp. 543 ff. 

1874. 
B. Sijmons. In Paul's Grdr. vol. iii, pp. 703 — 709. 
G.Stephens. Two Leaves of King Waldere^ s Lay. London. 1860. 
M. Trautmann. B. B. z. A. vol. xi, pp. 133—138. 

Other Works useful for Reference. 

Ammianus Marcellinus. Historical Works (translation from Latin 
by C. D. Yonge in Bohn's Classical Library. London. 1862). 

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Ed. by John Earle and Charles Plummer. 
Oxford. 1892. 



282 BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Corpus Poeticum Boreale. G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell. 

Oxford. 1883. 
Deutsches Heldenhuch. 5 Bde. Berlin. 1866 — 73. 

Fr. von der Hagen. Leipzig. 1855. 

Dkitisha. Denhndler deutscher Sprache u. Litteratur. G. Graff. 

Stuttgart und Tubingen. 1826—9. 
Edda (The Older). Edda Saemundar. Ed. Th. Mobius. Leipzig. 

1860. 

Saemundar Eddahins Fr6da. Ed. S. Bugge. Christiania. 1867. 

Edda-lieder. Altnordische Gedichte heroischen und my- 

thischen Inhalts. Ed. F. Jonsson. Halle. 1888—90. 

^^ Die Lieder der Edda. Herausgegeben u. erklart von 

B. Sijmons. Halle. 1906. 
Edda (The Younger). Edda Bnorra Sturlasonar. Th. Jonsson. 

Copenhagen. 1875. 

Die prosaische Edda im Auszuge, nebst Vqlsungasaga und 

Nornagestspdttr. Ed. G. Wilken. Paderborn. 1883. 

Flateyjarhok. 3 Bde. Ed. 0. R. linger. Christiania. 1868. 
Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum. Ed. K. Miiller. Paris. 

1841—52. 
Gudrun. Ein mhd. Gedicht. Ed. B, Sijmons. Halle, 1883. In 

Paul's Altdeutsche Texthihliothek. Ed. E. Martin. Halle. 1883. 

A mediaeval epic. Transl. M. P. Nichols. Boston, U.S.A. 

1899. 

Gudrun and Oilier Stories from the epics of the Middle Ages 
(containing also the stories of Hilde, Beowulf, Roland, Walther 
and Hildegund). John Gibb. London. 1881. 

Jordanes (Jornandes), sixth century. De origine actibusque Getarum. 

J. Langebek. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum medii aevi. 8 vols. 
Hafniae. 1772—1834. 

Matthew Paris. Historia Major. Ed. W. Watts. London. 1640. 

J. P. Migne. Patrologiae cursus completus. Series I, vols. 1 — ^79, 
Paris, 1844—61. Series II, vols. 80—217, Paris, 1844—61. 
Series Graeca. Paris. 1857. 

Nihelungenlied. Der Nibelunge Not und die Klage. Ed. K. Lachmann. 
Berlin. 1851. 

The Fall of the Nihlungs. Transl. M. Armour, in Everyman's. 

Library. London. 1908. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 

Oldest English Texts. H. Sweet. E.E.T.S. 83. London. 1885. 

G. H. Pertz. Monumenta Oermaniae Historica. Hanover. 1826. 

Pliny (The Elder). Natural History. 

Procopius. De hello Oothico. 

Ptolemy. Oeographia. Ed. K. Muller. Paris. 1883—1901. 

Recueil des historiens des Oaules. Ed. M. Bouquet. Paris. 1739. 

Rerum Anglicorum Scriptores. Ed. Sir Henry Savile. London. 

1596. Frankfort. 1601. 
Eolls Series. The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and 

Ireland during the Middle Ages, published hy authority of 

Her Majesty'' s Treasury., andj under the direction of the Master 

of the Rolls. London. 1858- . 
Saga. Fornaldar Sggur Nordrlanda. Ed. C. C. Rafn. Copenhagen. 

1829. 

Orettissage Asmundarsonar. Ed. R. C. Boer in Altnordische 

SagahihliotheJc. Halle. 1900. 

The Story of Grettir the Strong. Transl. from Icelandic by 

E. M. and W. Morris. London. 1900. 

Saga Thithriks konugs af Bern. Ed. C. R. linger. 

Christian ia. 1853. 

Wilkinasage (i.e. Thidrekssaga) und Nifiungasaga. Transl. 

F. V. d. Hagen. Altdeutsche u. Altnordische Heldensagen. 
Breslau. 1872. 

Heimskringla. Ed. C. R. Unger. Christiania. 1868. 

Noregs Konunga Sogur. Ed. F. Jonsson. Copenhagen. 

1893—1900. 

Saxo Grammaticus. Saxoni Grammatici Gesta Danorum. Ed. 
A. Holder. Strassburg. 1886. 

Saxo. Books I — IX. Transl. into English by 0. Elton. 

David Nutt. London. 1894. 

Tacitus. Germania. 

Translations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry. A. S. Cook and C. B. Tinker. 
Boston, U.S.A. 1902. 



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